Game Notes: (MBK) Carroll University @ North Central College (12/14/24)

Final Score
NCC 68, Carroll 66

Game Summary
There was more drama in the nightcap than there was in the game that preceded it, though at first it didn't seem like it. The Pioneers (2-7, 0-3) took the lead early and just built on it. They had a double digit lead with nine minutes gone in the contest and got it as high as 14 before the Cardinals (8-2, 2-1) started to make some headway and cut it a seven point game before the Pioneers made one late push to end the half up 37-25. After a Kobe Simpson three made it 40-27 about two minutes into the second half, Carroll went cold, and the Cardinals embarked on a 16-3 run that tied the game with under 12 minutes to play. This turned the game into a back and forth classic, with neither team being able to push out to a two possession lead. Carroll tied the game for the 13th time at 66 with about 15 seconds to go. The Cardinals took two and a half ticks to get across halfcourt for a timeout to draw up the final play. And from there... we'll let the video do the work.

Goaltending? You be the judge. #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/gAxIUukjvN

— Lucas Mitzel🎙 (@northsider89) December 15, 2024

Key Players

• Ethan Helwig (NCC): 7-12 FG (2-6 3PT), 4-5 FT; 20 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl.  Helwig was a large factor in the comeback, with 14 of his team-high 20 coming after the intermission. But no play was larger than the final offensive possession when he took a bounce from Alejandro Diaz, lost the handle, somehow got it back, fired up a fadeaway that somehow, someway, bounced home. Just two days after picking a pocket for the game-winning layup at Loras, he does it again.
• Terrance Moncrief (NCC): 8-13 FG (1-1 3PT), 2-3 FT; 19 pts, 6 reb (2 off), 3 ast, 4 stl. Someone came by the table late in the second half and asked what Moncrief was at scoring-wise; it might have even been after he hit his lone three to put the Cardinals up by that much with under 90 seconds to go. You talk about guys have a "quiet" 19 where you aren't really paying attention to his output, go to check the box score at the end of the game and his numbers are really good. Moncrief though, had a loud 19. He was attacking the basket and got a ton of shots to fall, none bigger that that three, even though Carroll immediately came back to tie the game.
• Evan Bland (CRL): 5-8 FG (2-4 3PT); 12 pts, 3 reb. There's probably a few different ways I could've gone, but Bland led the Pioneers in scoring coming off the bench, and hit some big buckets for them in this one. It just wasn't enough on this night.

Key Stats

• NCC: 10-34 FG 1st half (29.4%). This was a big part of it; the Cardinals couldn't buy a bucket early in the game. This mark included a 1-10 effort from beyond the arc. Obviously it got better after halftime (17-30, including 4-9 from beyond the arc), and that helped the Cardinals to a comeback victory.
• CRL: 8-29 FG 2nd half (27.6%). And this ultimately tells the other half. Carroll went about seven minutes without a field goal when the Cardinals were mounting their comeback. The numbers got buoyed by the late efforts to answer Cardinals baskets, but it just wasn't enough.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• CAR 82 (7-2, 2-0), @ AUG 70 (5-3, 1-2)
• NPU 78 (6-3, 3-0), @ WHE 75 (3-8, 0-2)
• BYE: MIL (5-4, 1-1)
• Sunday 4pm: ELM @ IWU

Final Thoughts

Okay, I didn't address it when I dropped the video originally, so let's get to the elephant in the room. Yes, that probably should have been goaltending on Tyler Swierczek. It was pretty clear both in real time and then again on replay that he touched the rim. But in keeping with how most of this game went, they let both teams play.

The Cardinals have now won 12 in a row against Carroll dating back to December of 2018, and that includes a three game sweep last year highlighted by a Sean Molloy fadeaway winning the game in somewhat similar fashion as well as a game in the CCIW Tournament. North Central continues to find ways to win games, even when they don't necessarily play their best. But at 8-2, with a 2-1 mark in CCIW play, they're in good shape.

This is it for conference play for the calendar year. Concordia Chicago comes calling on Friday (a reschedule due to NCC Football doing NCC Football things), plus an exhibition against D-I UW-Milwaukee before the holiday.