After watching Carthage College enjoy a hot-shooting first half Wednesday at Tarble Arena, the North Central College men's basketball team turned the tables after halftime, overwhelming the Red Men and strolling to a historic 95-77 victory.

The 18th-ranked Cardinals (17-6, 10-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) shot 75 percent (18 of 24) from the floor in the second half and set a North Central single-game record by knocking down 71.4 percent of their three-point field goal attempts (10 of 14) in the game. The victory also put the Cardinals' head coach, Todd Raridon, atop the College's all-time list for career coaching victories (205).

After absorbing a 97-68 defeat at Gregory Arena on Jan. 20, Carthage (8-15, 2-10 CCIW) threatened to return the favor Wednesday, connecting on 62.1 percent (18 of 29) of its field-goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The Red Men put together a 12-4 run late in the first half to take their largest lead at 41-34 with 4:05 left before taking a 47-41 lead into halftime following Sean Valentine's spinning jump hook at the buzzer.

North Central knotted the score at 53-53 early in the second period with a 10-2 run, getting a three-pointer and a jump hook from Alex Sorenson, before embarking on the run that would define the game. Erwin Henry sank a spinning layup and Jayme Moten took a charge before knocking down three straight free throws to spark a 20-3 surge which spanned six minutes and put the Cardinals in front, 79-61, with 7:13 to play after five straight points from Kevin Honn. 

The Cardinals led by as many as 22 points down the stretch and finished the night shooting 57.7 percent (30 of 52) from the floor and 86.2 percent (25 of 29) from the free-throw line. Two of North Central's three highest-scoring games of the season have come against the Red Men.

Henry paced the Cardinals with 19 points and six rebounds, making 7 of 10 shots from the field. Honn put up 16 points from the bench, while Sorenson finished with 14 and Connor Raridon totaled 12. Jagger Anderson finished with seven assists.

Valentine led the Red Men with 21 points. Brad Kruse scored 15, Kiston Lee added 14 and Mike Stevenson totaled 11 for the hosts.

The Cardinals play at ninth-ranked Elmhurst College on Saturday. The Blue Jays are 20-3 overall and 10-2 in the CCIW after Wednesday's 89-84 victory at North Park University Tipoff at R.A. Faganel Hall is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.