Clutch second-half shooting and strong defense down the stretch helped the North Central College men's basketball team finish its weekend road trip unbeaten on Saturday, as the Cardinals knocked off Eastern Mennonite University (Pa.), 70-68, in their second game of the Don Glick Classic at Bridgewater College's Nininger Hall.

North Central (6-2) finishes its trip with three wins in four days, and the Cardinals have now won four straight games overall. After building a 10-point halftime lead, North Central had to fend off an early second-half surge and overcome a late deficit, limiting the Royals to just two points in the final three minutes of play.

The Cardinals moved in front early with senior guard Vince Kmiec providing 19 first-half points on 7 of 9 shooting. Owning a 16-14 lead midway through the opening period, North Central scored 11 straight points to open up a double-digit advantage for the first time. Kmiec buried two three-pointers in the rally and Evan Fendley added a third. 

North Central led by as many as 13 points before heading into halftime ahead, 38-28. The Cardinals shot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

Eastern Mennonite (5-4) made its first four shots of the second half, including two straight three-pointers from James Williams, to cut into the Cardinals' lead. The Royals kept the pressure on and took a 45-42 lead with 14:31 to play. North Central's Jack Burchett completed a three-point play after being fouled on a putback to tie the score, but  EMU followed with inside buckets from Williams and Marcel Crump before Crump added a three-point play of his own to give the Royals their largest lead at 52-45.

The Cardinals bounced back to take the lead on two occasions before a 58-58 tie with 5:08 remaining. EMU scored six of the next eight points, four of which came from David Falk, to pull ahead by a 64-60 count with 3:03 on the clock. North Central drew even at 64-64 after a layup and a pair of free throws from Landon Gamble.

Gamble scored with 51 seconds left to put the Cardinals in front, but Crump sank two free throws to tie the score once again. Gamble made one of two free throws on North Central's next trip down the floor, and the Cardinals' Kevin Honn added another free throw when he was fouled rebounding a missed EMU jumper. Honn missed the second charity shot, but Gamble rebounded and got the ball to Kmiec, who also converted one of two attempts. The Cardinals led, 69-66, with nine seconds to go.

The Royals' BJ Sims drove the lane for a layup with five seconds left, and EMU fouled Honn to stop the clock. Honn again made one shot, and the win was finally sealed when Williams' buzzer-beating three-point shot was off the mark.

As the EMU defensive pressure tightened around Kmiec, Gamble stepped up and contributed 13 of his game-high 24 points in the second period and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Kmiec scored 20 points, making five of eight three-pointers and handing out four assists, while Honn scored 11 points and Burchett contributed nine points and nine rebounds. Burchett was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

With two steals, Kmiec tied North Central's career record of 133, a record also held by Adam Teising '06.

Crump totaled 19 points and Williams added 15 for the Royals.

The Cardinals head to Orlando, Fla. for the Athlete Connections Holiday Classic, hosted by Buffalo State College (N.Y.), Dec. 20-21.