WHEATON, Ill. (Feb. 22, 2020) – Tying the program record for College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) victories in single season, the North Central College men's basketball team scored a 78-71 victory over Wheaton College on Saturday, finishing the conference regular season with a 14-2 record.

North Central (21-4, 14-2 CCIW) matches the 1984-85 team who finished 14-2 in CCIW play and has now won 13 of the last 14 games over the Thunder, but had to overcome an early deficit as Wheaton scored the game's first eight points.

Finally gaining their composure four minutes into the contest, the Cardinals caught fire offensively to go on the game's pivotal run, a 29-6 rally over the next nine minutes to overtake the lead 29-14 and force the Thunder to play catch up the remainder of the contest.

Matt Cappelletti scored the first 13 points of the game for the Cardinals and scored all 18 of his points in the first 10 minutes to highlight the early Cardinal run.

Wheaton (15-10, 9-7 CCIW) slowly chipped away at the lead however, drawing to within two at the 16:16 mark of the second half but Blaise Meredith knocked down a much-needed three-pointer to increase the lead back to five, 47-42.

The Cardinals led by five or more points the rest of the way as Cappelletti and Meredith each finished with 18 points to lead the Cardinal scoring attack, while Cappelletti also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.  Michael Pollack added 15 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, while Connor Raridon added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Wheaton had five players finish in double figures, led by a 15-point, 16-reboound double-double from Cade Alioth, while Luke Anthony also finished with 15 points.  Tyson Cruickshank and Nyameye Adom each tallied 14 points, while Andrew Williams added 13 points.

North Central will host the CCIW Tournament beginning on Friday, Feb. 28, as the Cardinals receive a first-round bye and will take on the lowest remaining seed following Tuesday's first round contests.  The full CCIW Tournament schedule is available HERE.