With a chance to lock up its spot in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin tournament, the North Central College men's basketball team showed up ready to play at Elmhurst on Saturday, but the Bluejays' second-half resolve and significant foul-trouble woes condemned the Cardinals to an 84-78 loss in overtime at R.A. Faganel Hall.

North Central (17-7, 7-6 CCIW) lost the first of its four overtime contests this season despite the outstanding individual efforts of Charles Rosenberg, who tied a career high with 27 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the floor, and Erwin Henry, who tallied a career-best 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench.

The Cardinals kept Elmhurst's offense bottled up throughout much of the first half, limiting the Bluejays to 22.6 percent shooting (7 of 31) in the opening 20 minutes. The hosts tied the score at 16-16, but North Central got 3-pointers from Henry and Jayme Moten and two free throws from Rosenberg to pull ahead once again. The visitors extended their lead to 33-23 by halftime, holding Elmhurst scoreless for the final 3:13 of the period.

Elmhurst (19-6, 9-4) got its comeback started early in the second period and took the lead at 41-38 with 13:24 to play following eight straight points from Bryant Ackerman and a three-point play from Peyton Wyatt.

The Bluejays owned a 54-44 advantage with 8:05 left, at which point North Central stormed back with a an 11-1 surge. Rosenberg scored the final six points of the run, tying the score at 55-55 with a jumper. Elmhurst again threatened to put the game away afte rtaking a 62-56 advantage with 3:07 to go, but Joe Kennell scored, stole the ball and fed Rosenberg for a dunk in a 15-second span that slashed the Cardinals' deficit to 62-60.

Rosenberg scored again to tie the score at 62-62. Two free throws by Elmhurst's Kyle Wuest nudged the home team in front again, but Henry converted a three-point play and scored on a layup on the next trip down the floor to give the Cardinals a 67-64 edge with 45 seconds to go. North Central had possession with a chance to run out the clock, but turned the ball over against the Bluejays' full-court press. Ackerman took advantage of the extra opportunity to tie the score with a 3-pointer and force overtime.

The score was tied twice more early in the extra session, the last time at 71-71 with 3:40 on the clock. The Bluejays hit four straight free throws to move in front once again as North Central, already having lost Rosenberg to fouls late in regulation, saw starting forward Jack Burchett foul out. Elmhurst led by as many as six points down the stretch as the Cardinals played shorthanded. 

Rosenberg also knocked down 9 of 11 free throws in the contest. Moten, returning to the lineup after missing three games due to injury, scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, giving him a North Central-record 72 triples this season. Kennell turned in nine assists, one short of the Cardinals' single-game record, along with three steals and no turnovers running North Central's offense.

Ackerman paced the 25th-ranked Bluejays with 20 points, while Wuest scored 17, Wyatt put up 13, and Erik Crittenden totaled 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cardinals close out the regular season on Saturday, hosting North Park. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with Senior Night festivities to take place prior to game time.