A third nationally-ranked program met defeat this season at the hands of the North Central College men's basketball team Saturday evening at Gregory Arena, as the Cardinals extended their current winning streak to three games with a 80-62 conquest of No. 2-ranked Elmhurst College.

No. 25-ranked North Central (13-5, 6-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the CCIW standings with Elmhurst and No. 3-ranked Augustana College. The Cardinals knocked off their third nationally-ranked opponent of the campaign and their first since a 63-49 victory over the then-No. 9-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Dec. 9.

North Central led for virtually the entire contest and pulled ahead by as many as 23 points in the second half, shooting 57.7 percent from the floor (15 of 26) after halftime. The Bluejays, who entered the game as the highest-scoring team in the CCIW, were hassled into 34.8 percent shooting (24 of 69) and held 24 points below their scoring average fo the season. Leading the charge was Cardinal point guardJagger Anderson, who played perhaps his finest game in the North Central lineup. Anderson led all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting, while also contributing five assists and four steals. He put up 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting in 14 second-half minutes to help the hosts put the contest away.

After yielding the game's first basket, the Cardinals got a three-pointer and a layup from Erwin Henry to start them on a 10-0 run. Elmhurst (16-2, 6-1 CCIW) countered with a 10-2 surge of their own, and the score was tied three times before North Central pulled ahead, 22-19, following a three-point play by Anderson and a jumper from Alex Sorenson. The home team was then held scoreless for more than five minutes, but never fell behind as the Bluejays missed nine straight shots before Kyle Wuest scored in the lane to tie the contest at 22-22 with 5:10 on the clock. A tip-in by Sorenson on the next trip down the floor ignited a 13-2 Cardinal run, highlighted by three-pointers from Connor Raridon, Jayme Moten, and a final triple from Sorenson to put North Central ahead, 35-24, before Wuest's putback at the buzzer narrowed the gap to 35-26 at the break.

The Cardinals kept up the pressure as play resumed, opening the second half with a 15-4 run which was capped off by three-pointers from Raridon and Sorenson which extended the lead to 50-30. The run effectively put the contest out of reach, as Elmhurst never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

North Central shot 51.9 percent from the field (28 of 54), improving to 6-1 when shooting 50 percent or better. Sorenson made 8 of 11 shots and 3 of 4 three-pointers, finishing with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Raridon totaled 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. 

Wuest put up 15 points and Will Nixon finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bluejays, who lost for the first time since Nov. 25.

The Cardinals travel to take on Millikin University (6-12, 0-7) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Griswold Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.