Game Notes: Benedictine University @ North Central College (11/21/17)

Final Score
NCC 82, Benedictine 79

Game Summary
This one didn't look great early as the Eagles (0-3) were red hot coming out of the gate, overcoming a couple early one possession deficits with long range precision, jumping out to a 12-4 lead. The Cardinals (1-1) called a couple timeouts to stop the bleeding, but the threes just kept falling for the Eagles, who led 38-23 with 3:11 to play in the half. Then the Cardinals decided they'd had enough and closed the half on a 15-2 run to go into the break only down two. They carried that momentum into the second half, tying the game immediately and then turning the game into a battle. The lead would change hands seven times over the next few minutes before the Cardinals seemed to take command, going up ten with 6:43 to play, and after back to back threes with under five minutes to play led 74-60. The Eagles had a run in them though and chipped away at the lead with threes and free throws. Up two with 20 seconds left, the Cardinals made a critical turnover, and the Eagles tied the game at the line with 16.7 seconds to go. The Cardinals played for the last shot, and Mike Pollack buried a contested three with 1.1 seconds to go to give the Cardinals the win in the Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue.

Key Stats

• Mike Pollack (NCC): 8-11 FG (6-9 3PT), 3-4 FT; 25 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl. I completely glossed over Pollack in the season preview, but I'm okay with being proven unaware of how good he truly was. Pollack hit three triples in the first half, including two during that key 15-2 run, but he saved his best for the second half. He hit the aforementioned back to back threes that gave the Cardinals their 14 point advantage, then on the final play caught an Alex Sorenson pass on the left wing, took two dribbles to his right, and launched a contested three that I wasn't crazy about at first, but went nuts when he hit it.
• Erwin Henry (NCC): 6-11 FG (2-3 3PT), 6-7 FT; 20 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 8 ast. On a night where Alex Sorenson (2 pts, 2 reb in 13 minutes) was limited by foul trouble, the Cardinals needed another one of their seniors to step up, and Erwin absolutely did. He attacked the basket in the second half to help build that 14 point lead for the Cardinals, and hit some key free throws late to maintain the lead. The fact that he quietly had eight assists as well was even better.
• Brayden Olson (BEN): 10-15 FG (5-9 3PT), 7-9 FT; 32 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 4 ast, 2 stl. Olson went bonkers from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting all five of his threes to help open up that huge Benedictine lead. He turned his focus inside in the second half, attacking the basket and hitting some key free throws to help Benedictine erase that 14 point Cardinal lead. On a team that has seen most of its key personnel from the team that made the national title game two seasons ago, Olson is the key offensive weapon, and really showed it last night.

Final Thoughts

It's not a Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue without the game being dramatic, and this one certainly lived up to the billing of the last two matchups (NCC won last year on a huge defensive stand on the final possession, and two years ago Benedictine got the end of game heroics. But this was a big win for the Cardinals coming off a double overtime loss over the weekend, and one that lifted my spirits after whatever you want to call the ending of the women's game that preceded it. And somehow, I'm able to talk today after worrying I'd destroyed my vocal cords calling Pollack's game winner.

The Cardinals head to Hawaii for a tournament this weekend, playing Whitworth and Lewis and Clark on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They then get a week off to prepare for the CCIW opener at North Park on December 2nd.