One of the North Central College men's basketball team's finest defensive performances of the season turned out to be just enough to deliver a 10th consecutive in on Wednesday, as the Cardinals prevailed in a 54-53 nailbiter over Augustana College at Gregory Arena.
 
North Central (14-3, 7-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) limited the Vikings to 33.3 percent shooting (19 of 57) from the floor, the lowest by any of the Cardinals' opponents in conference play this season, which assisted in keeping a late offensive dry spell from knocking the hosts off the pace at the top of the CCIW standings.
 
Also pivotal in the Cardinals' efforts was the play of Blaise Meredith, who put up game-high totals of 16 points and 11 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season and the second of his collegiate career.
 
North Central trailed, 8-2, in the early going but rallied after a timeout, taking its first lead at 11-10 on Matt Helwig's spinning drive through the lane for a layup. The Vikings (11-6, 5-3 CCIW) briefly moved back in front before a jumper and a step-back three-pointer by Meredith on consecutive possessions lifted the home team to a 16-14 edge with 11:17 on the first-half clock. The Cardinals led by as many as five points before closing the period on a tip-in by Meredith to head into halftime in front, 28-25.
 
A three-pointer by Austin Elledge left Augustana with just a 36-35 deficit with 14:33 to play in the game, but the Cardinals outscored the Vikings, 12-4, over the next six minutes to take their largest lead at 48-39 following Meredith's three-point play. Matt Cappelletti's layup off a broken play with 6:18 on the clock gave North Central a 52-44 edge but wound up being the hosts' final field goal of the contest.
 
The Vikings trailed by just a 52-51 count heading into the final two minutes, though Helwig absorbed a foul and sank both free throws to restore North Central's advantage to three points. Augustana got a layup from Jack Jelen and a defensive stop to give it the game's final possession with 11 seconds to play. Elledge was able to work free for a three-point shot at the buzzer, but the attempt was off the mark.
 
The victory was the Cardinals' third straight against Augustana dating back to last season, marking the first time North Central has done so since 2013. Cappelletti finished with 10 points and Connor Raridon totaled five assists. Pierson Wofford led the Vikings with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Jelen scored 11 points.
 
The Cardinals host Millikin University (4-13, 1-7) on Saturday. Tipoff at Gregory Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.