The 10th win of the season came with a struggle for the North Central College men's basketball team on Sunday, as the Cardinals turned away a stubborn challenge from the Adrian College Bulldogs and showed some steel nerves at the free-throw line to prevail, 75-69, on the second day of the University of Mount Union M-Club Classic.

North Central (10-1) did not take the lead for good until just over eight minutes remained but made 13 of 16 charity shots in the final 4:07, including a 9 for 10 effort in the last two minutes, to close non-conference play on a four-game winning streak.

A back-and-forth first half feature eight ties and nine lead changes as the Bulldogs (2-8) kept pace by sinking 6 of 9 three-point shots and collecting 11 North Central turnovers. Trailing, 29-27, the Cardinals got a three-pointer from Jayme Moten to open an 8-0 run that left them with a 35-29 edge following Erwin Henry's turnaround jumper with 1:38 on the clock. Adrian responded just before halftime with a three-pointer from Jordan Denham and a layup by Earl Swift before time ran out to slash North Central's lead to 35-34 as the buzzer sounded.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a four-minute North Central scoring drought early in the second period to take a 42-39 lead on Justin Webster's layup with 13:22 to play. Moten sank a three-pointer on the next possession to knot the score at 42-42, Moten later fed Evan Fendley for a three-pointer before taking a rebound end-to-end for a layup, giving the Cardinals a 47-43 lead and prompting an Adrian timeout with 11:16 left.

Coming out of the stoppage in play, the Bulldogs' Curtis Gordon got to the line for a pair of free throws, and turnovers on the next two North Central possessions turned into a three-point play by Swift and a layup by Ben Rodak, nudging Adrian back into the lead at 50-47. Anton Horton had an opportunity to add to the Bulldogs' lead, but missed the first free throw of a one-and-bonus opportunity.

After Charles Rosenberg rebounded the errant free throw, the Cardinals' Marcus Agee drove the lane for a layup and was fouled, completing the three-point play to tie the contest for the 12th time at 50-50 with 8:57 left. Kevin Honn grabbed a rebound after a successful defensive possession, then took a pass from Moten to knock down a three-pointer at the offensive end. North Central got another stop and found Honn behind the three-point line again, this time on a pass from Burchett, and the shot found its target with 7:49 left to provide the Cardinals with a 56-50 advantage and lead into another Bulldog timeout.

Despite pressing and trapping the rest of the way, Adrian got no closer than three points down the stretch as the Cardinals' proficiency at the free-throw line put the game away.

North Central finished with 26 made free throws on 32 attempts, capping its most prolific outing at the line this season, while owning a 41-25 rebounding advantage in the game. The Cardinals limited Adrian to 35.5 percent shooting (11 of 31) in the second half.

Moten made 7 of 14 field goals and 9 of 9 free throws in leading all scorers with 27 points, the highest total by any North Central player this season. Honn totaled 14 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, while Henry put up 10 points and five boards. Rosenberg, who missed a large portion of the first half due to foul trouble, was limited to single digits in scoring for the first time this season with six points, though he did grab a team-high eight rebounds.

Rodak led Adrian with 15 points, while Gordon scored 14, Rickey Jackson put up 12 and Justin Webster scored 11.

The 21st-ranked Cardinals open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play at home on Saturday against ninth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University (7-2).