Saturday's matchup with Wheaton College delivered the fiercely-fought battle the North Central College men's basketball team has come to expect from the Thunder, as both teams threatened to seize control of the outcome before Cardinal senior forward Connor Raridon stepped forward to deliver the knockout blow in a 74-71 overtime triumph at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (10-3, 3-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) won their sixth straight game and prevailed for the 12th time in the last 13 meetings against Wheaton. Raridon was the ringleader throughout, tying a career high with 36 points while also contributing eight rebounds and six assists. He scored 17 of North Central's 31 points in the second half and seven of its 11 points in overtime.

A first half which saw six ties and four lead changes was closed out by a 7-2 Cardinal run, as Raridon converted a jump shot in the lane, sank a pair of free throws and assisted on a Matt Helwig three-pointer to send the hosts into halftime with a 32-27 advantage. The score was tied three times early in the second half before Wheaton (9-4, 3-1 CCIW) outscored the Cardinals, 11-4, over a five-minute stretch to take its largest lead of the night at 58-50 with 7:11 to play.

North Central got a fast-break layup from Blaise Meredith and six free throws from Raridon in just over a minute to keep the pressure on the Thunder, but continued to trail until 1:42 remained in regulation when Raridon scored in the paint and was fouled, completing the three-point play to tie the score at 63-63. Both teams came up empty on two opportunities to put the game away, sending the Cardinals into an extra session for the first time this season.

With the score tied at 67-67 midway through the overtime period, Wheaton's Nyameye Adom knocked down a three-pointer to put the visitors in front with 1:42 to play. Raridon sank two free throws at the other end before the Thunder's Luke Anthony made one of two shots at the charity stripe to leave the score at 71-69 in Wheaton's favor with just under a minute to go. After spending most of the evening driving to the basket to score inside, Raridon instead pulled up from three-point range with 43 seconds to play, burying the shot to wrestle the lead away from the Thunder at 72-71. Raridon rebounded a missed shot on Wheaton's final possession and was fouled, converting his 14th and 15th free throw attempts of the night with two seconds remaining to seal the win.

Raridon's scoring output matches the 36 points he put up in a 92-78 win over Albion College (Michigan) on Dec. 19, 2017. Will Clausel scored 10 points off the bench and Meredith grabbed eight rebounds to match Raridon for the team lead.

Anthony and Tyson Cruikshank scored 17 points each for Wheaton, while Adom scored 14 and Cade Alioth totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals host Illinois Wesleyan University (9-4, 3-1) on Wednesday. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.