Turning in its best wire-to-wire defensive effort of the young season, the North Central College men's basketball team scored a victory over the defending NCAA Division III national champions Wednesday evening at Gregory Arena, never allowing the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to get untracked in a 63-49 win over the ninth-ranked Pointers.

The Cardinals (3-3) limited Stevens Point to 27.6 percent shooting (16 of 58) from the floor in the contest and attempted a season-high 37 free throws as they defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time at home. 

After the Pointers' Sean McGann sank the first basket of the game, Stevens Point (3-3) did not score again for more than seven minutes, during which time the Cardinals piled up 12 unanswered points to take a lead they would never relinquish. Back-to-back buckets by Stephen Pelkofer and Brad Freeborn helped the visitors narrow the gap to 13-11, but Erwin Henry hit a jumper and a pair of free throws andAlex Sorenson knocked down a three-pointer to build the lead back up to 20-11 with 3:51 left in the first half.

North Central took a 26-18 lead into halftime and extended its advantage to as many as 18 points in the second period. Sorenson and Henry continued to lead the way, as Sorenson put up 15 points and Henry scored 10 in the second half alone. The Cardinals led by at least 10 points for the final 12:50 of the contest, shooting 52.4 percent from the floor after halftime.

Sorenson put up game highs of 20 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. Henry, making his first start of the season, finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including a perfect 8 for 8 effort at the free-throw line. Henry finished one point shy of the career-high 19 points he scored against Elmhurst College last season. Sorenson has now hit the 20-point mark in four of North Central's six games.

The Cardinals host Albion College (3-2) on Tuesday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.