A single eight-minute stretch was all the North Central College men's basketball team needed to pull away for good in Saturday's College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) encounter at Carroll University, as the Cardinals methodically picked apart the Pioneers in a 73-54 victory at Van Male Arena.

The win was the sixth consecutive for North Central (9-4, 3-2 CCIW), which limited the Pioneers to 31.5 percent shooting (17 of 54), the second-lowest accuracy by a Cardinal opponent this season, and put its stamp on the game with a 21-2 surge late in the first half.

With score tied at 10-10 after just over six minutes of play, the Cardinals got back-to-back buckets from Erwin Henry and Matt Cappelletti to open the rally that would define the contest. Henry added a three-pointer and a free throw, Connor Raridon converted a three-point play, Alex Sorenson scored on a reverse layup, and Mike Pollack sank a three-pointer before Henry drilled another three and Sorenson capped the rally with a layup to leave the score at 31-12 with 6:51 left in the first half. North Central made 8 of 10 shots during the rally while forcing the Pioneers to miss 12 straight attempts.

The visitors scored the final seven points of the half, getting four from Sorenson and another three-point play from Raridon, to carry a 41-17 lead into halftime. The Cardinals kept themselves clear of any potential second-half drama and saw Henry enter the history books with 12:12 on the clock, as his three-pointer from the left wing gave him a game-high 19 for the afternoon and 1,002 for his career. Henry becomes the 26th North Central player to score at least 1,000 career points.

Henry made 7 of 8 shots from the floor during the game, including a perfect 4 for 4 effort from three-point range. Sorenson finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots, while Pollack scored 13 points and Raridon finished with five assists. 

Tyler Ingebrightsen led Carroll (4-9, 0-4) in scoring with 12 points, while Ryan Clarey scored 11.

The Cardinals travel to face Millikin University (8-5, 1-3) on Wednesday. Tipoff at the Griswold Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.