An early second-half dry spell wound up putting Wednesday evening's game just out of reach for the North Central College men's basketball team, as the Cardinals lost a 76-59 decision to the third-ranked Augustana College Vikings at the Carver Center.

Trailing by just a 31-29 count just after the second period began, the Cardinals (11-3, 3-2 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) endured a seven-minute span without a point, during which time Augustana went on a 12-0 surge to establish a double-digit advantage it would hold until time expired.

The first half saw North Central wipe out an early 8-2 deficit as Blaise Meredith scored seven straight Cardinal points and tied the score at 14-14 with a three-pointer. The Vikings (12-1, 4-0 CCIW) got inside baskets from Micah Martin and Chrishawn Orange on consecutive possessions to pull back in front and led by as many as six points before carrying a 31-27 advantage into halftime.

Connor Raridon was the lone Cardinal to score in double figures with 12 points and also finished with a team-high four assists. Matt Cappelletti and Tommy Koth each finished with nine points and Cappelletti also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Mike Pollack's three-pointer with 11:36 left in the contest was his 100th in a North Central uniform, making him the 12th player in the program's history to make at least 100 career threes.

Nolan Ebel led all scorers with 16 points for Augustana, which also got 15 points from Orange and 14 each from Martin and Pierson Wofford.

The Cardinals host Elmhurst College (9-4, 4-0) on Saturday, with tipoff at Gregory Arena scheduled for 7:00 p.m.