Game Notes: (MBK) Elmhurst College @ North Central College (2/8/20)

Final Score
NCC 56, Elmhurst 45

Game Summary
Celebrating one of the best senior classes I can remember, the Cardinals (17-4, 10-2) took the early lead in this one, but for the first few minutes couldn't grab firm control as the Blue Jays (18-4, 9-4) were able to play decent defense and keep it close. The Blue Jays split a pair of free throws with 11:15 to go in the half to cut their deficit to one... and then the bottom fell out. The Blue Jays went ice cold and the Cardinals embarked on a nine minute 20-0 run capped by an alley oop and a three that rolled around the rim three or four times before finally falling, forcing Elmhurst's John Baines to burn three timeouts over the span in an effort to stop the bleeding. But the Cardinals even got revenge for last year, hitting a 30 foot runner at the halftime buzzer to take a commanding 34-15 advantage into the break. The Cardinals would lead by as many as 21, but the Blue Jays began to battle back in the second half, trimming the deficit to single digits with about eight minutes to play. But they would get no closer than eight as the Cardinals completed the season sweep.

Key Players

• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 5-13 FG (3-7 3PT), 3-4 FT; 16 pts, 11 reb (2 off), 1 ast. Senior Night was Cap's night to shine. He's struggled from deep for a chunk of this year, and did for a bit early in this one, but eventually the lid came off the bucket and he started to take over, hitting two of his threes during that decisive run, including the rollaround one that capped the proceedings. His assist came on a beautiful alley oop to Blaise Meredith that brought down the house.
  

  An alley-oop from Blaise Meredith highlighted a huge first half for @NCCMBB as they lead #8 Elmhurst 34-15 at the half! #WeAreNC pic.twitter.com/PDF0SoaXDm

  — NCC Cardinals (@NCC_Athletics) February 9, 2020

• Jake Rhode (ELM): 4-15 FG (3-7 3PT), 4-4 FT; 15 pts, 7 reb (1 off), 3 ast. Normally after a win I'd highlight more North Central guys, but by picking a couple Elmhurst players, I am. Rhode was a preseason All-American and will almost certainly be a unanimous First Team All-CCIW guy. But Saturday was not his Magnum Opus. With Aiden Chang or Blaise Meredith firmly in his face most of the night, Rhode was held below his season average of 21 points a game on a very inefficient shooting night. 10 of his 15 points came after halftime when the Blue Jays made some adjustments, but shooting 27 percent from the floor isn't going to get it done. But if you think his night was bad...
• Derek Dotlich (ELM): 0-6 FG (0-4 3PT); 0 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl. ...consider what happened to Dotlich on Saturday. He also had to deal with a healthy dose of Blaise Meredith and Aiden Chang... and was completely shut down. He came into Saturday's game averaging 17.5 a night, so that was a big reason why the Cardinals were able to dominate so thoroughly. It probably won't happen again should these two teams meet in the CCIW Tournament, but it's got to be a confidence booster for the Cardinals.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outscored ELM in the paint 24-12. I had a bit of a hard time picking here, but you do the math. Lavon Thomas had a decent game for the Blue Jays, but Elmhurst also gave up too many easy looks inside at times, which the Cardinals took advantage of.
• ELM: 4-23 FG 1st half (17.4%). When you have a nine minute scoring drought, your shooting numbers aren't going to look particularly good, but holy hell. Elmhurst is averaging 85 points a game factoring this one in, shooting 47 percent from the floor as a team. The Cardinals just held them to around half of their season scoring output on much worse shooting than average. The second half brought progression to the mean, but this half was a big reason why the Blue Jays lost.

CCIW Scoreboard/The Belt^TM Watch

• AUG 78 (16-6, 10-3), @ IWU 64 (14-7, 8-4)
• Augustana gains possession of The Belt^TM
• WHE 88 (13-8, 7-5), @ NPU 69 (4-18, 2-11)
• North Park eliminated from CCIW Tournament
• CAR 68 (14-7, 6-6), @ MIL 63 (4-18, 1-12)
• Millikin eliminated from CCIW Tournament
• BYE- CRL (10-11, 3-9)
• WBK: ELM 65 (8-14, 3-10), @ NCC 56 (9-12, 5-7)
• WBK: WHE 58 (16-6, 9-4), @ NPU 54 (17-5, 10-3)
• North Park clinches a CCIW Quarterfinal home game with AUG, NCC losses
• WBK: @ IWU 83 (15-6, 9-3), AUG 57 (11-11, 6-7)
• WBK: CAR 58 (10-11, 5-7), @ MIL 49 (13-8, 6-6)
• WBK: CRL 70 (8-13, 3-9) @ Marian 30

Final Thoughts

This was a huge win for the Cardinals, not only because it was Senior Night, but also because of how it happened. I've never seen a more dominant half than the first half of this game, other than maybe the day Alex Sorenson destroyed Robert Morris. This win also gave them the season sweep of the Blue Jays, which means North Central owns the tiebreaker over not only them, but likely all other contenders for the CCIW crown. They may end up needing it.

North Central travels to Rock Island on Wednesday for a battle for The Belt^TM and first place in the CCIW... in a game that may decide where the conference tournament is being held. A Cardinal win puts them at least two up in the loss column on everyone with three to play, all but guaranteeing that there will be basketball in Gregory Arena the final weekend of February. A Vikings win would put Augustana in first place by half a game, with a one game lead in the win column, but the Cardinals would have a game in hand. That said, the Vikings' remaining schedule (vs Carthage, bye, vs North Park) seems easier than North Central's (at Carroll, vs Carthage, at Wheaton), so this makes the rematch a critical one.

This is all without getting into the fun side of Division III basketball... the regional rankings. The first set come out on Wednesday, February 12th, and I'll go in depth on what they are, what they mean, and what the postseason picture looks like for the Cardinals.

Game Notes: (MBK) North Park University @ North Central College (2/1/20)

Final Score
NCC 90, NPU 66

Game Summary
After losing The Belt^TM on Wednesday night, the Cardinals (16--4, 9-2) opened with a dunk on a wide open drive to the hoop, sparking a 9-0 run to open the game. The Vikings (4-16, 2-9) finally got on the board just over three minutes into the contest, but it was pretty much over shortly after that as the Cardinals got out to a 20-4 lead not even six minutes in. North Park tried to make it interesting, pulling back within single digits about halfway through the first half, but the Cardinals pushed the lead back out, never leading by less than 11, and hit a three at the buzzer to take a 51-30 lead into the locker room. In the second half, the Vikings never managed to get closer than within 16, while the Cardinals pushed the lead past 30 with about ten and a half minutes to play, and for the second straight home game, Todd Raridon was able to call off the dogs in the final few minutes. With the win, the Cardinals clinch a berth in the CCIW Tournament.

Key Players

• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 10-14 FG (1-3 3PT); 21 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl. This was Cap's second-best scoring output of the season (the Greenville game was his top outing), and the first play was a microcosm of the game. Cap went to the point to catch a pass and managed to avoid North Park's Matt Szuba, who gambled for a steal and overpursued. That left the lane completely wide open, as all of Szuba's teammates were paying attention to their assignments, leaving Cap no opposition for that dunk to open the festivities. He got a ton of layups in this one, and while he's struggled from three this season (only 27.5%), he's still averaging double figures as a key piece for this team.
• Connor Raridon (NCC): 6-8 FG (0-1 3PT), 2-2 FT; 16 pts, 10 reb (4 off), 7 ast, 1 stl. Another day at the office, but with a double-double. Amazingly, this is only Connor's second of the season, but it's the 24th of his career. He's been scoring when he's needed to, but for the most part has been the facilitator. For the season, he's put up a 15.3/7.4/5.6 line on 53/36/84 splits, which are really good (6th in scoring, 5th in rebounding, tops in assists, tops in field goal percentage, would be in the top 20 in three point percentage if he qualified, and fourth in free throw percentage in the CCIW). It's a two-man race for the Fred Young Most Outstanding Player award in the CCIW: Raridon, and Elmhurst's Jake Rhode.
• Izaiah Sanders (NPU): 5-10 FG (2-2 3PT), 3-3 FT; 15 pts, 6 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 2 stl. The Vikings have been pretty bad the past couple years, but they have some intriguing pieces going forward, and the junior guard is one of them. This is a pretty good line, and appears to be Sanders' best game of this campaign so far. If the Vikings can get some good complementary pieces this offseason, they can get out of the CCIW basement.

Key Stats

• NCC: 21-30 FG in 1st half (70.0%). I don't think I've ever seen a more efficient half of basketball than the first half of this one against an overmatched Vikings squad. This included a 6-10 clip from beyond the arc (60%). Breaking down some of these 51 points, 24 came in the paint, 14 came off ten Viking turnovers, seven came off second chances, and five came on the fast break. That's a good half. They came back down to earth in the second (13-27 for a 48.2% clip), but that's to be expected, and is still a great shooting day.
• NPU: 16 turnovers. It was kind of hard to pinpoint one thing. The Vikings shot pretty well (50% from the field, 33% from deep, but only 59% from the line), but they pretty much shot themselves in the foot early on. As mentioned above, ten of those 16 turnovers came in that decisive first half, and the Cardinals scored 21 points off those opportunities. North Park, for its part, did force 11 turnovers, including seven steals, to help mitigate this, but surrendering a shooting day like they did while not taking care of the ball doesn't help.

CCIW Scoreboard/The Belt^TM Watch
With Illinois Wesleyan taking possession of The Belt^TM on Wednesday down in Bloomington, this added feature returns to this section until we have another game at Merner for It^TM.

• @ ELM 80 (18-2, 9-2), WHE 69 (12-7, 6-4)
• Elmhurst clinches a CCIW Tournament berth
• @ IWU 88 (13-6, 7-3), CRL 44 (9-11, 2-9)
• Illinois Wesleyan retains possession of The Belt^TM
• @ AUG 76 (14-6, 8-3), MIL 55 (4-16, 1-10)
• Augustana clinches a CCIW Tournament berth
• Bye- CAR (12-7, 4-6)
• WBK: @ NCC 63 (9-10, 5-5), NPU 59 (16-4, 9-2)
• WBK: @ IWU 73 (13-6, 7-3), CRL 57 (7-12, 3-8)
• WBK: WHE 63 (15-5, 8-3), @ ELM 60 (7-13, 2-9)
• WBK: MIL 66 (13-7, 6-5), @ AUG 60 (10-10, 5-6) (OT)
• WBK: Bye- CAR (8-11, 3-7)

Final Thoughts

I think pretty much everyone had the expectation that this was going to be an easy win for the Cardinals... but not even I expected it would have started like this. Cap's game-opening dunk really set the tone, and with the Cardinals jumping out to an 18-2 lead, there was little drama on Saturday. It was nice once again to see the end of bench guys get in, and part of me now wants Barak Diehl to get a little more regular playing time, because dude can shoot. I know it won't happen, but it's fun.

With Elmhurst winning to keep pace, we continue with that two-way tie atop the CCIW. It will be broken one way or another this week, as the Cardinals have their second bye on Wednesday (Elmhurst hosts Carthage), and then this coming Saturday we have arguably the biggest game of the season as the Blue Jays come to Gregory Arena. This game won't decide the fate of the conference, but I think whoever wins will likely get one of the two byes. And for the Cardinals, if they win that game against Elmhurst, it will guarantee North Central the tiebreaker due to a head-to-head sweep thanks to their come-from-behind victory at Faganel Hall way back in December, which will probably put the Cardinals in the driver's seat for the conference title.

Saturday we also celebrate Senior Night, as we send off one of the most successful senior classes in program history. Four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (at least for two of the seniors involved as they're fifth-year seniors), two CCIW Tournament championships, and a ton of fun memories highlight their careers, and it'll be a bittersweet celebration of the four guys we'll honor.

Game Notes: (MBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/25/20)

Final Score
NCC 90, Millikin 55

Game Summary
This was a contest for maybe the first ten minutes or so as, despite giving up the opening basket, the Big Blue (4-14, 1-8) got out to an early 9-4 lead. But The Belt^TM-holding Cardinals (15-3, 8-1) retook a two point lead at 16-14, and after Millikin tied the game at 16 with 10:24 to play, we figured we'd be in for more of the same the rest of the half. But then the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run, forcing a Big Blue timeout, and after a couple free throws by them, a 12-0 Cardinal run put North Central in total command, as they took a 41-21 lead into the locker room. The Big Blue scored the first basket of the second half, but then never trailed by less than 20 after that point. A second chance dunk with just under seven to play served as the dagger, allowing Todd Raridon to call off the dogs, and the guys on the end of the bench got into the party as well.

Key Players

• Connor Raridon (NCC): 4-7 FG (1-1 3PT), 5-5 FT; 14 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 8 ast. Ho hum. Connor did a majority of his damage (8-4-3) before halftime, with all eight of his points coming late in the half as the Cardinals were putting the Big Blue away early. His eight rebounds were a game-high, as were the assist numbers (more on that shortly).
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 4-6 FG (3-4 3PT), 1-1 FT; 12 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 stl. If Wednesday against Augie was Meredith's coming out party for the year, Saturday was a confirmation that he is indeed back, which might spell trouble for the rest of the CCIW. Other than his 5-8 day up in Kenosha back in December, this might have been Blaise's best outside shooting performance of the season to date, and he continued to wreak havoc on the defensive end as well. If he's truly back... look out.
• Sam Stichnote (MIL): 7-8 FG (1-2 3PT), 0-1 FT; 15 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 1 ast. The Big Blue freshman had himself a pretty good game in this one. He hit one three early in this one, then went off in the second half as the only real offensive threat for Millikin. His five rebounds were also a team high. He gives the Big Blue a good piece to help build around for the future.

Key Stats

• NCC: 25 assists. I could have gone a few different ways here: the Cardinals shot 50 percent from both the field (30-60) and beyond the arc (16-32), but the assist numbers have to be mentioned. That's 25 assists on 30 field goals, which is a ridiculous level of efficiency that was really only topped by assisting on 40 of 47 against Greenville earlier this year... which of course comes with an asterisk. That 25 assist number also needs to be put in the context of the Cardinals committing just five turnovers all game. That's a 5:1 ratio, which is absurd.
• MIL: 14 turnovers. In context, 14 turnovers isn't a ton for a 40 minute men's basketball game. It's a little high, but I usually wait to criticize it when you get closer to 20. But when those 14 turnovers lead directly to 24 Cardinal points... that's a problem. And of those 14 turnovers, eight came off Cardinal steals, which also didn't help.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• ELM 98 (17-1, 8-1), @ NPU 73 (3-15, 1-8)
• AUG 69 (12-6, 6-3), @ CRL 65 (9-9, 2-7)
• WHE 67 (12-6, 6-3), @ CAR 65 (11-7, 3-6)
• Bye- IWU (11-6, 5-3)
• WBK: MIL 74 (12-6, 5-4), @ NCC 73 (8-10, 4-5)
• WBK: @ NPU 57 (15-3, 8-1), ELM 38 (7-11, 2-7)
• WBK: AUG 69 (9-9, 4-5), @ CRL 56 (6-11, 2-7)
• WBK: WHE 68 (13-5, 6-3), @ CAR 57 (8-10, 3-6)
• WBK: Bye- IWU (12-5, 6-2)

Final Thoughts

I didn't really touch much on The Belt^TM in this one. I almost feel like I'm taking It^TM for granted, now that it's taken up residence in Naperville for almost three weeks. But It^TM seems to have taken a liking here for now, as the Cardinals have won 11 in a row, including four straight Belt^TM defenses.

This game was kind of a must-win with Elmhurst routing North Park earlier in the day, so the Cardinals keep pace in the race for the top of the conference. It was actually a day full of chalk, so things stay more or less the same as we come to the end of January. The Cardinals still hold the tiebreaker over Elmhurst at the moment with a head-to-head victory, which means that February 8th is getting furiously circled on my calendar as that's when the Blue Jays come calling.

But we can't look ahead too far yet. The Cardinals are off to Bloomington on Wednesday to take on Illinois Wesleyan. The Cardinals won the first matchup between the two, taking The Belt^TM in the process, and have won four straight down at the Shirk Center, including a thrilling comeback last season. Elmhurst, for its part, is off to Rock Island for a rematch with Augustana, so if there's ever a chance to get a little breathing room... this might be it.

Attacking the Gauntlet Once More

Somehow, someway, I keep coming up with new titles for this annual post.

Like many of the conferences in Division III, the CCIW plays a double round robin in men's and women's basketball. Everyone has played eight games to date: one against every other opponent. So as we make the turn into the second half, this is where I start to write a little bit more on a weekly basis, beginning with this one. The regional rankings don't start coming out for another couple weeks yet, so we still have to wait for that, but this is where we start to look at postseason prospects for everyone, North Central in particular.

Game Notes: (MBK) Augustana College @ North Central College (1/22/20)

Final Score
NCC 54, Augustana 53

Game Summary
In another classic between these two rivals, the Vikings (11-6, 5-3) opened the game on an 8-2 run, including a couple early triples that prompted a quick timeout. That timeout from the Cardinals (14-3, 7-1) stopped the bleeding, and they climbed out of the hole, turning the game into a back and forth affair with one tie and five lead changes over the next several minutes, before the Cardinals finally took a little control, leading by as many as five before settling into the break with a 28-25 advantage. The Cardinals couldn't quite pull away in the second half, but managed to create a little breathing room from time to time, getting a couple big threes early in the half for that space. With about ten minutes to go the Cardinals had pushed the lead to eight, and a three point play a minute and a half later gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at nine. The Vikings slowly clawed their way back, pulling within one a couple times, including at that final margin with 38 seconds to go. The Cardinals missed a corner three on the ensuing possession, and Augie called for time with about 11 seconds to go needing one score to win. The Cardinals' defense played it perfectly for the first ten seconds, but after a little bit of a fumble, Augie got off a three before the buzzer... that just rimmed out, allowing the Cardinals to retain possession of The Belt^TM and first place in the conference.

Key Players

• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 6-9 FG (2-4 3PT), 2-5 FT; 16 pts, 11 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 blk. I've spent a chunk of the year talking about how Blaise has kind of struggled this year... but he showed up to play last night. He had 10 points and eight rebounds at the break, including hitting an early three to help set the tone, and followed that up a few minutes later with a beautiful stepback three. Later in the game, he was able to attack the basket and get some nice layups. The free throws could have been a little better, but when he attacked the rim and the glass with the impunity he did last night, he's a big reason why the Cardinals escaped with a win.
• Pierson Wofford (AUG): 4-12 FG (0-4 3PT), 7-8 FT; 15 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 1 ast. Wofford was a big reason why the Vikings stayed close in last year's classic, so I was a little surprised that he seemed invisible early on in this game. But he made his presence felt as the game went on, leading his team in rebounding and getting to the basket and the line. He's been a good three point shooter as well this year (37.3%), so to go 0-4 from deep was huge in this one, but he definitely made his presence known.
• Micah Martin (AUG): 3-6 FG, 1-3 FT; 7 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 blk. Martin presents a unique challenge for opponents in his 6'11" frame, especially against this North Central team that doesn't have a true big. But Martin really struggled early in this one, missing three of his four first half shots, pretty much all of them early and right at the rim when he should have made them. You also expect a guy of that size to dominate the boards... but he finished with just two. Part of that was due to foul trouble, as he only played six minutes in the first half, sitting with three fouls the rest of the time. He played a clean second half, including getting a couple key layups during Augie's desperate comeback.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded 42-26. I feel like this is relatively normal for an NCC-Augie game the past couple years, given Augie's hoarding of bigs and outsizing the Cardinals, and sure enough, the numbers agree. The Vikings managed a ridiculous 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second chance points (NCC had four offensive boards for seven second chance points, by comparison). For the Cardinals to win in spite of this is something. Normally I'd put this in Augie's section, but another stat tells the Vikings' tale a little better.
• AUG: 5-23 3PT (21.7%). As a team, the Vikings are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc this season, so it's a little surprising to see a total this low. Credit the Cardinals for playing good defense, but let's make this number from last night really jarring. The Vikings hit their first two threes of the game, spanning the first two and a half minutes. Over the remaining 37 and a half minutes... that's a 3-21 mark, a 14.3% clip. That usually won't win you games.

Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch

It's time for my favorite feature of the season: The Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch! If you're new to Confessions of a Sportscaster or Division III basketball in general, you may not be too familiar with the gentleman pictured here. This is Grey Giovanine, longtime head coach at Augustana. During his tenure, Augie has become one of the perennial powers at the D-III level, largely due to the coaching of Giovanine. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a coach, but it's always fun when Augie comes to town, because watching Grey traverse the sideline is a show in and of itself... especially early in the game because the sport coat he starts the game with is coming off. It's just a question of when.

That question has prompted me to run a pool the past few years (and I even put it up on Twitter with mock gambling lines on Sunday). Tonight, I managed to to actually see the glorious moment with my own eyes: with 15:13 left in the first half, Grey Giovanine removed his jacket following a Micah Martin offensive foul. I had been peeking over shortly before this, feeling like we were on the verge of it, and I tried to swing my head immediately after the offensive foul was called... and sure enough, Giovanine was in the process of ripping his sport coat off. I've never been happier at a basketball game. I ran a pool of probably about ten people last night, with many figuring the jacket was coming off much later in the first half. Kevin, our official scorer, and I both won that pool, figuring the jacket was coming off about seven minutes in. But the 31 percent of respondents who correctly called it on Twitter... you guys also win.

Illinois needs to hurry up and legalize sports betting, because I want to start making this a prop bet.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 89 (16-1, 7-1), IWU 72 (11-6, 5-3)
• @ WHE 58 (11-6, 5-3), CRL 54 (9-8, 2-6)
• @ NPU 72 (3-14, 1-7), CAR 68 (11-6, 3-5)
• Bye: MIL (4-13, 1-7)
• WBK: NCC 70 (8-9, 4-4), @ AUG 63 (8-9, 3-5)
• WBK: WHE 62 (12-5, 5-3), @ IWU 59 (12-5, 6-2)
• WBK: NPU 66 (14-3, 7-1), @ CAR 59 (8-9, 3-5)
• WBK: ELM 64 (7-10, 2-6), @ MIL 53 (11-6, 4-4)
• WBK: Bye- CRL (6-10, 2-6)

Final Thoughts

I don't know that my heart rate has totally gone down from last night. Let's watch that final sequence again.

Final from Naperville: North Central 54 Augustana 53 #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/6JxGLvGAJQ

— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) January 23, 2020

Breathe, Cardinal fans. You escaped with a win. That makes three in a row over the Vikings, the longest win streak since they won seven in a row from 2011 (the last basketball game I ever called for WONC, incidentally) through 2013, including a pair of CCIW Tournament wins. The win also keeps the Cardinals in first place, albeit tied with an extremely good Elmhurst team. I'll go into the CCIW at the halfway point tomorrow and dig into the numbers a little bit deeper.

This was a good win though, and it was nice to see the Cardinals hang on in a game where their closing out of an opponent wasn't as good as it has been on prior nights. It also marks the third straight defense of The Belt^TM for the Cardinals, who seem to like having a supernatural totem hanging out in Gregory Arena.

They'll kick off the second half of CCIW play on Saturday at home, getting Millikin for the second time in ten days. The Cardinals won the first matchup by ten down in Decatur, and that was a tight one at times, so we'll see if the home cooking can give the Cardinals a little more of an edge.

The Legend of The Belt(TM)

We take a break from posting about Division III basketball games to posting about... Division III basketball games, in a sense.

Having gone to North Central, a team that has been a perennial contender in the CCIW for basketball, I became familiar with the program even before taking on the mantle of PA announcer. In reading through things on D3Hoops, I had seen stuff about a message board, but didn't join it officially until February of 2016. And even then, it took me forever to stumble upon the greatest thread of all time: that of the Division III Championship Belt^TM. I've talked a little bit about The Belt^TM in the past week or so, but I feel like a full primer on it is necessary at this point.

Game Notes: (MBK) Carroll University @ North Central College (1/11/20)

Final Score
NCC 63, Carroll 55

Game Summary
Tipping a few hours early due to inclement weather, the Belt^TM-holding Cardinals (12-3, 5-1) were able to score the game's first basket, but the Pioneers (9-6, 2-4) were able to keep pace until a key sequence about seven minutes in when the Cardinals picked up an and-one, and Carroll coach Paul Combs ran onto the floor to argue it, picking up a technical foul. Both technical free throws were hit, turning the three point play into a five point play, and the Pioneers went into chase mode, as the Cardinals pushed the lead to ten just over two minutes later and would lead by as many as 11. Carroll managed to keep it reasonably close, pulling to within five a couple times before going into the break down 31-23. The Cardinals came out kind of cold to start the second half, allowing the Pioneers to make it a one possession game less than four minutes in, but an 8-0 Cardinal run pushed it back to double digits and forced a Pioneer timeout. Again, the Pioneers refused to go away, answering with a 13-2 run that tied the game at 42, and split free throws on each side forced another tie at 43 with nine minutes to go. A sustained 10-0 Cardinal run spanning three minutes seemed to put the hosts in the driver's seat, but Carroll again closed the gap, managing to pull back within one at 56-55 with about two and a half to play. But that was all they'd get, as a good look at a go-ahead three their next time down missed, and free throws plus a clutch corner three was enough for the Cardinals to close it out and defend The Belt^TM.

Key Players

• Connor Raridon (NCC): 3-6 FG (0-1 3PT), 6-6 FT; 12 pts, 7 reb (1 off), 6 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl. Just another day at the office for number 32. He only played 38 minutes in this one, but made the most of it, splitting his dozen point evenly between the halves and picking up four of his six dimes in the second half. Adding in the second-highest rebounding total for the game, plus wreaking havoc on the defensive end, and the preseason All-American showed why he was.
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 1-6 FG (1-5 3PT), 4-4 FT; 7 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. This has still been a major offensive struggle all season for Blaise, but Saturday had to give him a little more confidence. After going 0-8 in his last three games, he narrowly missed a three early that rattled out, and the one he did hit came at a key moment during that 10-0 run and seemed to stun him given his reaction. He was also clutch at the line, hitting a pair during the aforementioned run, and hitting a pair right after the missed go-ahead three attempt by Carroll to make it a three point game. I think his confidence is there, hopefully Saturday was a stepping stone to him starting to heat up.
• Kale Maupin (CRL): 8-12 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 21 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 3 stl. Maupin had a really good game for the Pios, displaying a great inside-out game on offense and playing good defense on the Cardinals' bigs. He was a key part of the comeback effort, hitting one during the Pio rally to tie the game at 42, and he had a wide open look to pull his team within one with two and a half to play. He also had a good look at that go-ahead one Carroll's next time down, but he was just a bit off, and Carroll's dreams of a road upset died with that miss.

Key Stats

• NCC: Outrebounded Carroll 30-20. It's rare for the Cardinals to really possess a size advantage, per se, but they kind of did in this one, and made the most of it to the tune of a +10 margin on the boards. North Central had seven offensive rebounds in the game, leading to eight second chance points. Carroll, for their part, had just three offensive boards, none resulting in second chance points. You do the math.
• CRL: Forced 15 NCC turnovers. Carroll started the game with man defense, but spent a significant chunk of the game in a 3-2 zone with Maupin at the top, and I think it really messed with the Cardinals to some degree. Those 15 turnovers led to 16 Pioneer points and helped get them back in the game more than once.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ ELM 96 (13-1, 4-1), NPU 81 (2-12, 0-5)
• AUG 83 (9-5, 3-2), @ MIL 58 (4-11, 1-5)
• Was postponed to Sunday 1/12
• CAR (10-3, 2-2) @ WHE (9-4, 3-1)- PPD
• Makeup scheduled for 5:30pm Monday 1/13
• BYE: IWU (9-5, 3-2)
• WBK: @ NCC 62 (6-9, 2-4), CRL 60 (5-9, 1-5)
• WBK: NPU 80 (11-3, 4-1), @ ELM 75 (6-8, 1-4)
• WBK: @ MIL 75 (10-4, 3-2), AUG 71 (8-7, 3-3)
• Was postponed to Sunday 1/12
• WBK: CAR (8-5, 3-1) @ WHE (9-4, 2-2)- PPD
• Makeup scheduled for 3:30pm Monday 1/13
• WBK: BYE- IWU (10-4, 4-1)

Final Thoughts
Carroll is always a tough out, and they were once again on Saturday. Their 2-4 CCIW record doesn't really do them justice. For reference, their four losses:

• @ Augustana- by two in overtime
• vs Elmhurst- by one in double overtime, required a 35-40 have by the Blue Jays' Derek Dotlick at the buzzer
• vs Carthage- by eight, trailed by two with about two minutes to go, missed a game-tying layup with about a minute to play, then gave up four points in 15 seconds
• @ NCC- see above

With a six-team conference tournament, the Pios can certainly make it, but they'll likely have to win a road game against a 3 or 4 seed to do so... but we're getting way ahead of ourselves.

For the Cardinals, this was a good, gutty win. They didn't play as complete a game as they did against Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, but did just enough to pull it out. These were the kind of games the Cardinals lost earlier in the season. Now, they find themselves on an eight-game win streak after having held serve at home against some tough opponents. It doesn't get a lot easier to close out the first half of CCIW play, as North Central heads down to Decatur to take on Millikin this Wednesday, then after a Saturday bye... we begin the Jacket Watch.