Game Notes: (MBK) Wheaton College @ North Central College (1/28/17)

Final Score
NCC 69, Wheaton 55

Game Summary
I had a brief sense of déjà vu in this one as the Thunder (8-10, 4-5) opened the game on a 5-0 run, but the Cardinals (11-8, 5-5) responded much more quickly, answering with seven straight to make it a ball game. The teams traded advantages for much of the first half with five ties and 10 lead changes. The Thunder went up by as many as six with about two and a half minutes to go before the Cardinals narrowed the gap to 34-33 at the break. North Central tied the game two minutes into the second half, then grabbed the lead a possession later. Wheaton kept it close for a couple minutes, but the Cardinals went on a 10-0 run to break the game open at 53-40. The Thunder would close the gap to seven, but a 9-0 Cardinal run spanning just under two minutes put the game away.

Key Stats

• Aiden Chang (NCC): 5-11 FG (3-7 3PT), 2-2 FT; 15 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 2 ast. Chang had an excellent night, finishing the first half with eight points, including a 2-3 half from beyond the arc. He also had some key baskets in the second half, including a key putback to spark that 9-0 run in the second half (more on that below). He also capped off that run with a three that served as the dagger.
• Jaquan Phipps (NCC): 3-4 FG, 1-1 FT; 7 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 stl. JQ is usually a defensive stopper off the bench for Todd Raridon, and he served as such for most of Saturday's game, but he had some key offense for the Cardinals in the second half, picking Thunder point guard Luke Peters' pocket, driving to the basket and getting the old fashioned three point play during the aforementioned 10-0 run. He later capped it off with a layup on a second chance opportunity, and added a putback a minute and a half later to finish his scoring. Again, he's a defensive guy, so any offense he adds is a bonus, but his offense on Saturday was a key.
• Aston Francis (WHE): 6-16 FG (1-5 3PT); 13 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 2 ast. Francis is going to be in the conversation for First Team All-CCIW, and deservedly so; he's been the guy for the Thunder this season, and the Cardinals knew going in that they were going to have to stop him to beat Wheaton. Francis had a good first half, putting up 10 points on 5-10 shooting, but he was completely shut down in the second half, only hitting a three from about 28 feet away. Tommy Koth and Jagger Anderson were on him much of the night and did a great job keeping him in check.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• North Park 70 (15-4, 8-2), @ Elmhurst 62 (6-13, 2-8)
• @ Carthage 74 (13-6, 6-4), Augustana 70 (15-4, 8-2) (OT)
• Carroll 75 (11-8, 6-4), @ Millikin 66 (3-16, 1-9)
• BYE: Illinois Wesleyan (12-6, 4-5)

Final Thoughts
The Cardinals had the benefit of playing their first two games of the second half of the double round robin at home against lower tier CCIW opponents, but they've really taken advantage of it by beating up on a bad Millikin team on Wednesday and then on Saturday taking command early in the second half and imposing their will on the Thunder. The win puts the Cardinals firmly in fifth place in the CCIW, just a game out of a playoff spot.

We had a couple fun moments during that game that I wanted to bring up. At the end of the first half, Wheaton nearly stole all the momentum on a three quarter court heave that somehow went in. The only problem is that that somehow was the result of a deflection off the stanchion holding up the basket. I was already announcing the halftime score as the heave fell in because I could tell it had no chance... until it did. However, you can't score that way, and rewatching the shot shows it came after the buzzer, and after some discussion amongst the officials and my signalling no basket at the table, they discounted the shot and it remained a one point game going into the break.

Speaking of the officials, I don't think this was a particularly well officiated game, as both coaches were complaining for chunks of the game. Todd Raridon received a warning in the second half for coming out of the coaches' box, a rule that is often broken but rarely enforced. Later in the half, Wheaton coach Mike Schauer was protesting a call and demanded that the official give him an out of the box warning just so they would listen to him, and he was obliged.

The kicker was on Aiden Chang's aforementioned putback that sparked the clinching 9-0 run. There was a jump ball immediately before that shot, and the Cardinals had one second on the shot clock. The Cardinals inbounded high to Alex Sorenson, whose shot got enough of the rim to allow a shot clock reset and allow Chang to put it back up and in. The buzzer did sound, but the officials did not whistle the play dead for a shot clock violation. Schauer was furious, ripped off his jacket a la the immortal Grey Giovanine, and was screaming at the refs about how it was a shot clock violation. He would later come to the table to complain to us about how the ball did not hit the rim. I don't know why he was complaining to us; we did everything right at the table. The buzzer went off, but the refs didn't blow the whistle.

The Cardinals have a chance to move into a tie for one of the tournament spots as they welcome Carroll to Gregory Arena for the first time in 25 years on Wednesday. They need this one, as four of North Central's final five games will be away from the comforts of Merner Fieldhouse. They also need it because of Carroll's earlier win over the Cardinals combined with their tie for third place in the CCIW.