A break from the rigors of College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) play was not accompanied by a drop in intensity for the North Central College men's basketball team on Tuesday, as the Cardinals went on the attack from the game's outset and put forth an overwhelming effort from start to finish in a 102-50 victory over Finlandia University at Gregory Arena.

The win was the ninth straight for North Central (12-4), which improved to 6-1 at Gregory Arena in recording its largest margin of victory this season and the fourth-largest in the history of the Cardinals' program.

The hosts scored the game's first 14 points, 10 of which came from Alex Sorenson, in the first six minutes of play to put their stamp on the contest and never looked back. An 11-0 run, including two three-pointers by Matt Cappelletti and another from Blaise Meredith, increased North Central's lead to 33-13 with 6:36 left in the opening period and Mike Pollack's baseline jumper just before the buzzer sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 46-17 advantage. 

The Cardinals never let Finlandia (3-11) up for air after the break, shooting 66.7 percent (22 of 33) from the floor over the final 20 minutes and leading by at least 40 points for the final 10 minutes of the contest. North Central shot 56.3 percent (40 of 71) for the game, including a 12 for 26 effort (46.2 percent) from three-point range, and owned a 52-21 edge in rebounding.

Sorenson finished the game with 33 points on 15 of 18 shooting and collected 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season, while Jack Bronec put up his first double-double with career-high totals of 11 points and 12 boards. Cappelletti finished with 16 points, making 4 of 4 three-point shots, Meredith added 15 points and Pollack scored 10, with Connor Raridon handing out nine assists to move into second place in North Central career history (250) in that category.

The Lions were led by Rakeem Beal's 13 points off the bench, while Brandon Robinette scored 11 and Tristan Johnston finished with 10.

The Cardinals return to CCIW competition on Saturday, traveling to face Elmhurst College. Tipoff at R.A. Faganel Hall is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.