Jan 02, 2016
The North Central College men's basketball team used 11 three-pointers, including five straight in the second half to pull away from North Park University in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) opener 76-64 on Saturday inside Gregory Arena.
North Central (8-4, 1-0 CCIW) led from the opening basket aside from a 13-13 tie early, and held off a stubborn North Park offense including d3hoops.com preseason All-America Honorable Mention selection Juwan Henry to 7-of-22 shooting from the field. The Cardinals also dominated the glass all evening, holding a 51-27 advantage, including a 17-9 lead on the offensive end.
The Cardinals seemed to be in control in the first half, leading 36-25 with 1:47 to play in the first, but the Vikings (8-4, 0-1 CCIW) recorded five straight points to close the half including a lay-up by Henry as time expired.
A pair of free throws from Henry drew North Park to within one, 47-46 with 10:00 to play in the contest, but that was as close as the Vikings would come to overtaking the Cardinal lead as North Central responded with a 12-2 run to quickly increase the lead back to double-figures, 59-48.
The Cardinal run was highlighted by a three-pointers on three-straight possessions, as Alex Sorensondrained a couple and Connor Raridon also hit from deep. On the Cardinals' next two possessions, Jayme Moten connected from beyond the arch, while Raridon once again connected from long range to make in five straight possessions with a three-pointer.
North Central held a commanding lead down the stretch, taking its largest lead 76-62 with under a minute remaining in the contest.
Sorenson led the Cardinal offense with 24 points on a career-best 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arch, while finishing 9-of-10 from the field, while tying his career-high with 14 rebounds and six blocks. Kevin Honn added 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, while Raridon finished with 13 points and nine boards.
Jordan Robinson led all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Henry finished with 18 points, but was held to just 32 percent shooting from the field, 11 points below his season average.
North Central is back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 6, hosting Millikin University at 7 p.m. Link to live coverage available HERE.