The momentum built up during a four-game winning streak in non-conference play carried over into the North Central College men's basketball team's return to College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals raced to a large early lead and defeated Carthage College, 77-67, at Gregory Arena.

North Central (8-4, 2-2 CCIW) held the Red Men scoreless for the first five minutes of play as the visitors missed their first seven shots. The Cardinals scored the evening's first 11 points, getting six from Alex Sorenson and five from Erwin Henry, and extended their lead to 18-4 following five straight points from Matt Cappelletti. The lead grew as large as 18 points late in the first period before the halftime buzzer sounded with the hosts in front, 40-27.

Sorenson, coming off a school-record 54-point performance in North Central's victory over Robert Morris University-Chicago on Saturday, jumpstarted the Cardinals' efforts on Wednesday with 18 first-half points on 9 of 15 shooting. North Central shot 53.1 percent (17 of 32) from the floor in the first 20 minutes while limiting the Red Men to 10 of 31 shooting (32.3 percent).

Carthage got its comeback bid started midway through the second half, as an 8-0 run closed the gap to 51-46. Connor Raridon responded by finding Erwin Henry for a three-pointer and scoring on a jump hook, and Blaise Meredith followed with a pair of three-pointers to build the lead back up to 62-46 with 8:03 to play. The Red Men made one final push, getting within six points at 66-60 with 4:04 left, but Sorenson followed with two straight baskets in the paint to spark a 9-0 run that put the game on ice.

Sorenson finished with game-high totals of 28 points and seven rebounds, while Henry put up 19 and Cappelletti scored 13. The Cardinals shot 51.6 percent from the floor for the game (32 of 62), putting them over the 50 percent mark for the fourth time in the past five games. 

Carthage (7-5, 2-2) got 18 points from Jordan Thomas, 14 from Brad Kruse, 11 from Brad Perry and 10 from Mike Canady. 

The Cardinals travel to face Carroll University (4-8, 0-3) on Saturday. Tipoff at Van Male Arena is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.