Benedictine 75, NCC 73
Game Summary
It was a great start to the Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue as the Cardinals (6-4) got the ball inside early and took firm control of the game, scoring 16 of the contest's first 20 points. The Eagles (10-0) slowly worked their way back into the game, but couldn't stop the Cardinal offense, as North Central took a 36-26 lead into halftime. The Eagles came out strong to start the second half though, opening on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three. The Cardinals would push it back up as high as seven, but it would not last, with a corner three giving Benedictine a short-lived lead. The Cardinals got it back but couldn't hold it. The Eagles led by five with about two minutes left, but the Cardinals tied it with 32 seconds left. However, the Eagles got the game winning basket with two seconds left, and the Cardinals were unable to answer.
Key Stats
First note: the officiating throughout the game wasn't great, but it was abysmal at the end. Benedictine called timeout with 23.1 seconds left to draw up their final play, then NCC called timeout right after. They had one left, and Coach Raridon told the refs that he wanted to use his last one after a made basket. Kevin Homn, who was on the floor at the time, also screamed for a timeout after the make. Both requests were ignored. This is a terrible failure by the officials, even though in all likelihood, with two seconds left, you aren't getting off a great shot. In principle though, this was bad.
That said, even though it cost the Cardinals a chance to tie or possibly win, I can't blame that solely for the loss. The Cardinals had a ten point cushion at halftime after leading by as many as 13 in the first half. You figured a Benedictine run was coming, and it came immediately. The Cardinals were a little late to respond and had decent leads as the half went on, but failed to execute to keep that lead.
At the end of the day though, I have to tip my cap to the Eagles. They're undefeated and ranked seventh in the country, and unlike their women's team, their record isn't inflated. They are a very, very good team and at this point you can all but pencil them in for the NCAA Tournament. It was a frustrating end to the evening, but they earned the win.
The Cardinals are off now through Christmas and close out the non-conference schedule next week at Robert Morris before diving head first into CCIW play in the new year.
Game Summary
It was a great start to the Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue as the Cardinals (6-4) got the ball inside early and took firm control of the game, scoring 16 of the contest's first 20 points. The Eagles (10-0) slowly worked their way back into the game, but couldn't stop the Cardinal offense, as North Central took a 36-26 lead into halftime. The Eagles came out strong to start the second half though, opening on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three. The Cardinals would push it back up as high as seven, but it would not last, with a corner three giving Benedictine a short-lived lead. The Cardinals got it back but couldn't hold it. The Eagles led by five with about two minutes left, but the Cardinals tied it with 32 seconds left. However, the Eagles got the game winning basket with two seconds left, and the Cardinals were unable to answer.
Key Stats
- Tahron Harvey (BEN): 10-16 FG (0-1 3PT), 7-9 FT; 27 pts, 7 reb (3 off), 6 ast, 1 stl. Harvey scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half, but saved his best for last. He got the ball with about ten seconds to go in the game, drove down the right side of the floor and got a great look at the game-winning layup. He was phenomenal throughout the night, converting a ton of layups and hitting some mid range jumpers.
- Lucas Johnson (BEN): 2-6 FG (2-3 3PT), 2-3 FT; 8 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk. It was actually really good to see Luke in action last night; I coached him when I was a senior in high school and he was in eighth grade at Aurora Christian. Johnson wasn't much of a factor on the offensive side, though his pair of threes came at crucial moments late in the game. He was a force on the defensive end, using his length to create some contested shots by the Cardinals (plus those three blocks) and was solid on the glass. An all around good performance.
- Alex Sorenson (NCC): 9-23 FG (0-2 3PT), 2-3 FT; 20 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 1 blk. Sorenson dominated the paint in the early going, helping build that 16-6 North Central lead while playing excellent defense at the other end. The Eagles must have made their adjustments at halftime, because he didn't get going as well in the second half. He avoided foul trouble, which was great, but he was strangely out of the game late in the half before returning with a couple minutes left. I'm not sure if he was tired or what, but I found it weird that they went away from him towards the end other than his game-tying layup with 31 ticks left.
That said, even though it cost the Cardinals a chance to tie or possibly win, I can't blame that solely for the loss. The Cardinals had a ten point cushion at halftime after leading by as many as 13 in the first half. You figured a Benedictine run was coming, and it came immediately. The Cardinals were a little late to respond and had decent leads as the half went on, but failed to execute to keep that lead.
At the end of the day though, I have to tip my cap to the Eagles. They're undefeated and ranked seventh in the country, and unlike their women's team, their record isn't inflated. They are a very, very good team and at this point you can all but pencil them in for the NCAA Tournament. It was a frustrating end to the evening, but they earned the win.
The Cardinals are off now through Christmas and close out the non-conference schedule next week at Robert Morris before diving head first into CCIW play in the new year.
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