The dogged defensive effort and balanced scoring output which were the hallmarks of the North Central College men's basketball team's 21 regular-season victories were presented in full view in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday, as the Cardinals opened this year's national tournament with a 69-54 victory over Adrian College (Michigan) at Gregory Arena.

The Cardinals (22-5) never trailed in the contest, limiting the Bulldogs to 31.5 percent shooting (17 of 54) from the floor and seeing four players score in double figures. North Central advances to the second round of the championship for the second straight year and will seek to advance to the round of 16 for the third time on Saturday.

A tip-in by Matt Cappelletti sparked an early 7-0 run that left the score at 9-2 and gave the hosts a lead they would keep all night long. With the count standing at 24-18, Matt Helwig fed Will Clausel for a three-pointer, and Clausel returned the favor just 35 seconds later to double the Cardinals' lead to 30-18 with 5:55 left in the first half. The advantage reached 13 points before Adrian's Jordan Harris closed the half by driving for a buzzer-beating layup, and the teams broke for halftime with North Central in front, 37-26.

The Bulldogs (17-12) cut the lead to 41-34 following an inside bucket by Kendall Bellamy and a three-pointer by Jeremy Kalonji, but Blaise Meredith and Connor Raridon both connected on jumpers in the lane before Meredith canned a pair of three-pointers to stop Adrian's comeback in its tracks. North Central led by double digits the rest of the way.

Raridon finished with team-high totals of 16 points and six assists, while Clausel (who made 6 of 7 field-goal attempts) and Meredith each finished with 15 points. Cappelletti scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Cappelletti's rebound total is the eighth-highest in a single game in the program's history and the most by any Cardinal player since Michael Patterson grabbed 25 boards against North Park University on Feb. 18, 1989. 

The Cardinals move on to Saturday's second round against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (20-8), a 74-58 winner over Transylvania University (Kentucky) in Friday's other first-round game. North Central hosted the Titans in its season opener in November, losing by a 76-66 count. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with ticket sales to open at 5:30.