Game Notes (MBK): Carroll University @ North Central College (2/1/17)

Final Score
NCC 82, Carroll 69

Game Summary
This was a good back and forth game as the Cardinals (12-8, 6-5) were able to go toe-to-toe with the Pioneers (11-9, 6-5), who were hitting their shots early in this one. The Cardinals led by as many as four in the early going, but timely three point shooting from the Pioneers built an eight point lead and forced a couple North Central timeouts. A 9-0 Cardinal run would later flip the script and give North Central a two point lead, but Carroll answered back with four straight, and the Cardinals split a pair of free throws in the final second to go into the break down 38-37. The Cardinals continued that momentum in the second half, forcing a tie at 45-all, then embarking on a 15-4 run to take control of the game. The Pioneers weren't done, scoring six straight to narrow the gap to five, but the Cardinals started to heat up from outside and pushed their lead to as many as 15 to cement their grip on the victory.

Key Stats

• Jagger Anderson (NCC): 6-12 FG (2-3 3PT), 8-12 FT; 22 pts, 1 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl. I don't know that Jagger gets enough credit for this team, but he was phenomenal last night. He only turned the ball over once, did a great job distributing the ball, and had his usual couple of circus shots that fell, and while outside shooting isn't his strongest suit, he was left open a few times and made the Pioneers pay for it. He also did a good job at the free throw line, including taking advantage of a flagrant-1 foul following a steal.
• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 8-11 FG (3-6 3PT), 2-2 FT; 21 pts, 8 reb (1 off), 1 blk, 1 stl. Last night snapped a four game streak of double digit rebounds for the freshman, but he still did a good job on the glass and made up for falling two short of a double-double by having his best offensive game to date. He hit some key threes in the second half to help put Carroll away. I'm starting to think Cappelletti is the heir apparent to Kevin Honn as the forward "super sub" once Connor Raridon comes back.
• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 9-13 FG (1-2 3PT), 3-3 FT; 22 pts, 6 reb (3 off), 1 ast, 1 blk. What's astounding about this stat line: Sorenson accomplished this stat line in just 26 minutes, and he sat for an overwhelming majoring of the final 11-plus minutes with four fouls. He was in and out a few times after that as part of offense-defense substitutions, but the best part of this win was that they really didn't need him all that much to come away with the victory.
• Carroll: 8-17 3PT (47.1%). I'm adding this as a fourth stat because it's key to the game. Carroll is a team of shooters, and that's a big reason why they controlled the first half. They hit six of 10 threes in the first half before cooling off and only hitting two of seven in the second half. Credit the Cardinals' defense for making adjustments to stop Carroll's strength.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• Augustana 59 (16-4, 9-2), @ Wheaton 57 (8-11, 4-6)
• Carthage 93 (14-6, 7-4), @ Elmhurst 91 (6-14, 2-9) (OT)
• Illinois Wesleyan 65 (13-6, 5-5), @ Millikin 53 (3-17, 1-10)
• Millikin is eliminated from CCIW Tournament contention.
• BYE: North Park (15-4, 8-2)
• WBK: NCC BYE (10-9, 4-6)

Final Thoughts
This was a fairly chippy game, as Erwin Henry received a technical for what he said was a simple hand wave in the second half. The coaches also traded barbs, as during the second half after a foul call questioned by Todd Raridon, there was a wet spot on the floor that needed to be wiped up. Carroll's team manager went out to wipe it down, as did Raridon, with an official nearby. Pioneer head coach Paul Combs yelled over something to the effect of "Your school has 3000 students and you don't have a manager?" Raridon responded that his manager was upstairs filming the game. After the floor was wiped off, Combs thanked his manager, and Raridon chirped back, "I was out here too, are you going to thank me?" Combs answered in the negative, and for a split second I thought we might have a coach fight. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.

This is a big win for the Cardinals, who even up the season series with the Pioneers, but Carroll still holds the tiebreaker thanks to an earlier win over North Park. Nonetheless, the Cardinals are in a tie for that fourth and final spot in the CCIW Tournament after their third straight win, all at home. It doesn't get any easier for North Central though, as four of their last five are on the road. They have a very tough one coming up on Saturday at North Park, with the Cardinals needing a win there to boost their chances at making the postseason.