Leading throughout the contest and breaking the game open with a dominant second half, the North Central College men's basketball team cruised to victory in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic Saturday evening, defeating Lewis & Clark College (Oregon), 83-53, at Moanalua High School.

The Cardinals (2-2) extended an eight-point halftime lead to 27 after a 25-6 run midway through the second period, shooting 57.9 percent from the floor (63.0 percent after halftime) and owning a 42-22 rebounding advantage.

North Central scored the game's first five points on an inside basket by Alex Sorenson and a three-pointer by Erwin Henry in the opening minute, leading by as many as 16 points before the Pioneers (1-3) closed the first half with a 12-4 run. The Cardinals went into the break with a 40-32 advantage, led by Sorenson's 15 points and seven rebounds.

Henry knocked down a jumper on North Central's first possession of the second half, and the Cardinals followed soon after with fast-break layups by Henry and Connor Raridon following blocked shots by Sorenson and Aiden Chang. Owning a 48-40 advantage with 15:13 to play, North Central finally put the game away for good with an 11-0 run which included two layups from Henry and a three-pointer from Mike Pollack on the fast break. The lead extended to 73-46 with 4:20 to play before the starters left the game.

Sorenson finished with game highs of 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Henry totaled 13 points and Pollack handed out seven assists. Andrew Vickers led Lewis & Clark with 15 points.

The Cardinals open College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play at North Park University (1-2) on Saturday. Tipoff at the North Park Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.