The path to victory was 15 feet from the basket for the North Central College men's basketball team Saturday at Millikin University, as the Cardinals put up a season-high 42 free-throw attempts and made enough of them count in a 73-67 win over the Big Blue at the Griswold Center.

After hoisting up a single-game school-record 42 three-point shots in Wednesday's loss to Carthage College, North Central (5-2, 2-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) adopted a more aggressive strategy going to the basket and found better results. Despite making just 6 of 17 field-goal attempts in the second half, the Cardinals were able to negate a seven-point deficit and lead by as many as 13 points down the stretch as they converted 23 of 35 charity shots in the final 18 minutes of play.

Despite enjoying 59.1 percent accuracy (13 of 22) from the floor in the first half, North Central found itself in a back-and-forth battle with the Big Blue (0-8, 0-2 CCIW). The lead changed hands 16 times in the opening period, the last of which came when Connor Raridon scored the final points of the half on a jump shot with 2:17 on the clock. The Cardinals carried a 32-31 edge into halftime, with neither team having led by more than four points.

The seesaw nature of the contest continued into the early going of the second period, as Millikin's Tyler Pygon and the Cardinals' Nick Chambers exchanged three-pointers within the first minute. The Big Blue got another three-pointer from Chase Smith on the next trip down the floor, igniting a 9-1 surge which led to Millikin's largest lead of the night, a 47-40 advantage with 14:48 to play.

Following a timeout, North Central halted the rally as Aiden Chang drove the lane for a layup and Raridon converted two free throws. After the Big Blue got an inside bucket from Korbin Farmer, the Cardinals held the hosts scoreless for nearly six minutes and regained the lead at 50-49 on Jagger Anderson's layup with 7:21 remaining. Millikin attempted to regroup by calling a timeout, but Alex Sorenson converted a three-point play soon thereafter to extend the North Central lead to four points. The Big Blue slowed the bleeding with Jordan Cunningham's jumper in the lane, but then went scoreless for a three-minute stretch. The Cardinals got free throws from Chang, Raridon and Anderson, as well as a three-pointer from Sorenson, to take a 61-51 lead with 3:06 on the clock.

The Cardinals sealed the win by making 12 of 17 charity shots from then on, keeping them ahead of a comeback effort which saw Millikin tally 11 points in the final 41 seconds.

Raridon led North Central with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists, making 7 of 9 shots from the floor and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Sorenson put up 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, Chang totaled 12 points, and Chambers, making his first collegiate start, hit double figures for the second straight game with 10 points.

Pygon was Millikin's high scorer with 13 points, while Cunningham and Jack Simpson each finished with 12.

Finished with conference play until January, the Cardinals travel to face Albion College (Michigan) on Tuesday. Tipoff at Kresge Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.