"I Am a Champion, and I Refuse to Lose"

Photo from The Canton Repository

It's November 26, 1994. I've just turned five years old and am probably playing with toys or something while my parents decorate the house for Christmas. Bill Mack has just led the North Central Cardinals football team to their second consecutive 3-6 season, but closed the campaign with back to back victories. Meanwhile, up in Michigan, defending Division III national champion Mount Union has lost to host Albion College in the second round of the playoffs. The Britons would go on to win the Stagg Bowl two weeks later.

Game Notes: University of Mount Union @ North Central College (11/20/15)

Final Score
NCC 83, Mount Union 68

Game Summary
The Cardinals (1-0) came ready to play out of the gate, surging to an early advantage and forcing an early Purple Raider (1-2) timeout to try to stop the bleeding. It wasn't enough, as the Cardinals continued their surge behind a balanced attack. Mount Union eventually switched from man defense to a 2-3 zone and was able to fight back into the game, but the Cardinals adjusted and carried a 42-27 lead into the locker room. The Cardinals picked right back up where they left off in the second half making great offensive plays and keeping the crowd into it despite a sluggish pace thanks to a ton of fouls. The Raiders played it tough, but the Cardinals bled clock to finish it off as the crowd chanted "Overrated" on the final possession regarding the Raiders' being ranked 7th in the country.

Key Stats

• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 13-27 (0-2 3PT), 1-2 FT; 27 pts, 11 reb (5 off), 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk. The sophomore transfer from Northern Michigan proved an excellent successor to the Burchett/Rosenberg duo by dominating the paint with great touch around the basket. He also threw down an alley oop early in the second half to bring the house down.
• Aiden Chang (NCC): 2-5 FG (2-4 3PT), 4-4 FT; 10 pts, 4 reb (1 off), q ast. Chang is a freshman out of the Freeport area and was effective in his first college outing. He's a solid shooter and ball handler off the bench and shot pretty well. There were flashier guys to put in this spot, but I like this kid. Keep an eye on him.
• JJ Kukura (UMU): 11-21 FG (1-5 3PT), 10-10 FT; 33 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast. Talking with the official scorer, he's a guy you love to play with and hate to play against. He dominated offensively and was a pest on both ends, drawing a ton of fouls. 

Final Thoughts
I'm not too sure if the Raiders are that overrated as the crowd suggested, but they were definitely sluggish tonight. They got going later in the game but by then it was too late. The argument could be made them at the officiating was poor, but I think it was mostly consistent. Some calls were debatable, but it went both ways.

He Cardinals are off tomorrow, coming back Sunday to play Chicago for the tournament title. I'll have tomorrow's score between Chicago and Mount Union on Sunday as part of that game's post.

2015 North Central College Tip Off Tournament Preview

We have an unusual situation this year. Normally, the weekend before Thanksgiving officially kicks off the Division III basketball season, at least for North Central. The women, however, got an early start in their game against Calvin last Friday. The men's season officially begins today.

I've already previewed the upcoming year for both the men and the women, but I'm doing what I did last year and giving the Tip Off Tournament its own preview. Given the format changes again this year, I think it's needed.

Photo from NCC Athletics Department

The women's tournament is returning to its format from prior years, with North Central playing the 5:00 game on Friday, the Friday losers playing at noon on Saturday while the Friday winners play at 5:00. Last year, NCC played both 5:00 games in an effort to deliver a "championship" game, and it succeeded with a double overtime thriller that saw a couple school records fall. Meanwhile, the men's tournament is changing formats again, but out of necessity this time. The school was unable to secure a fourth team to the tournament, so they and their two guest teams will play a round robin with one game apiece on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, this could complicate the championship, but last year saw a split championship between North Central and Wisconsin-Whitewater after both teams went 2-0 over the weekend.

The tournament's first day will proceed almost like normal, just with no noon games; the women play back to back this afternoon. There will be a neutral men's game on Saturday in between the two women's games, and the North Central men will play their second game on Sunday to spread things out. Here's a look at the five teams coming to Naperville this weekend.