For the second time in school history, the North Central College men's basketball team has claimed College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championships in back-to-back years, as the Cardinals clinched at least a share of their second straight CCIW title on Tuesday by leading from wire to wire and overpowering North Park University, 75-49, at the North Park Gymnasium.

North Central (17-7, 11-2 CCIW) last won consecutive conference championships in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. The Cardinals can clinch their first outright CCIW title since 1990 on Saturday when they wrap up the regular season with a home game against Millikin University.

The Cardinals scored the game's first five points and never trailed. North Park did its best to keep pace, trailing by just a 14-12 count with 11:48 on the first-half clock, before Aaron Tiknis knocked down a jumper and a three-pointer to start North Central on a 12-3 run that gave the visitors their first double-digit lead at 26-15. The Cardinals made 5 of 6 shots in the rally  which spanned just over four minutes.

Owning a 28-20 advantage with 4:08 left before halftime, the Cardinals embarked on a 10-0 run to seize the contest by the throat, as Vince Kmiec drilled a three-pointer, CJ Goldthree came up with a steal and sailed in for a dunk, and Charlie Rosenberg fed Derek Raridon for a dunk before completing a three-point play with 1:18 left. North Central headed into the half with a 38-22 lead.

The Cardinals followed by opening the second half with a 12-2 surge, taking their largest lead at 50-24 on Raridon's jumper with 16:46 remaining. North Park (6-18, 2-11 CCIW) countered with a 14-2 run of its own to narrow the gap to 52-38 with 12:44 left, but was never able to get closer than 12 points.

North Central led, 64-49, with 4:27 left in the game when it slammed the door on the Vikings, closing the game with an 11-0 rally and forcing the hosts to misfire on their last eight field-goal attempts.

Tiknis posted his fourth double-double of the season, leading the Cardinals with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Raridon and Landon Gamble each put up 14 points, with Raridon adding a game-high six assists, and Goldthree totaled 11 points.

North Central limited the Vikings to 30.6 percent shooting (19-62) from the floor and outrebounded North Park, 52-31. Roshawn Russell was the hosts' top scorer with 14 points and Mike Gabriel contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cardinals tip off against Millikin (1-23, 0-13) at 4:30 p.m. at Gregory Arena on Saturday. Senior Day festivities will be conducted prior to tipoff.