Bookending the contest with a pair of extended scoring runs, the North Central College men's basketball team led throughout its seventh straight victory Wednesday evening as the Cardinals took down homestanding Millikin University, 71-54, at the Griswold Center.

North Central (10-4, 4-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) scored the game's first nine points and wound up taking a commanding 25-2 lead after just under seven minutes of play. The Cardinals made 10 of 12 field-goal attempts in the early surge, getting nine points from Alex Sorenson and eight from Erwin Henry.

The Big Blue closed the gap to eight points at 29-21 late in the first half as North Central endured an 11-minute drought without a field goal, but Henry and Mike Pollack connected on three-point attempts on consecutive possessions near the end of the period and the visitors took a 35-25 advantage into halftime.

Millikin (8-7, 1-5 CCIW) kept whittling the lead down once play resumed, trailing by just a 39-35 count with 15:51 to play. The Cardinals gained some breathing room by holding the hosts scoreless for nearly six minutes, scoring eight straight points on three-pointers from Pollack and Aiden Chang and a fast-break layup by Blaise Meredith.

Leading, 50-40, North Central put the game away with a 10-0 scoring run which spanned two minutes. Chang knocked down a three-pointer, followed by a Connor Raridon jumper, an inside basket by Sorenson and a three-point play by Henry, gave the Cardinals a 20-point lead with just 7:57 to play. The lead grew as large as 24 points down the stretch.

The Cardinals scored 26 points off of 20 Millikin turnovers while committing only nine miscues themselves. Henry led all scorers with 16 points, while Sorenson put up 14 points and seven rebounds and Chang finished with 11 points. Raridon put up a game-high seven assists, pushing his career total to 235, which ranks third in North Central's history.

Levi Laws paced Millikin with 14 points, while Elijah Henry scored 12 and Fisher added 11.

The Cardinals host Wheaton College (11-3, 5-1) on Saturday. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.