Game Notes: (MBK) Carthage College @ North Central College (1/3/18)

Final Score
NCC 77, Carthage 67

Game Summary
The Cardinals (8-4, 2-2) took early command in this one as they scored the game's first 11 points. It took the Red Men (7-5, 2-2) five and a half minutes to get on the board, but the Cardinals remained in total control, not letting the lead dip back down into double digits in the first half and leading by as many as 18, but the Red Men closed the half on a 7-2 run to make it 40-27 at the intermission. Carthage came out of the locker room stronger and used an 8-0 run fairly early in the half to make it 51-46, but the Cardinals responded with an 11-0 run to regain command. The Red Men didn't give up, cutting the lead back down to six with about five minutes to play and again a minute later, but the Cardinals put the game away with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to win their fifth straight and even up their CCIW record.

Key Stats

• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 13-21 FG (0-2 3PT), 2-2 FT; 28 pts, 7 reb (2 off), 4 ast. As far as encores go, this was pretty good. Alex fell in love with his midrange jumpers a little bit too much, but still dominated in the post as he's been doing. Carthage doubled a lot more than Robert Morris did, but Sorenson was still able to find his looks while also dishing out to open teammates for baskets. Sorenson also did quite a bit of damage against Carthage's backup big men.
• Erwin Henry (NCC): 8-14 FG (2-4 3PT), 1-1 FT; 19 pts, 6 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 2 stl. The last few games, Connor Raridon and/or Sorenson have done the heavy lifting and Henry has kind of faded into the background, but he broke through in a pretty big way tonight, hitting a couple threes at critical moments to help the Cardinals take command of this one. He also did a great job on defense with his two thefts and did an excellent job helping the Cardinals control the glass.
• Brad Kruse (CAR): 4-6 FG (1-2 3PT), 5-5 FT; 14 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl. There were a few options I could go with for the Red Men, but I think Kruse had the best overall game, leading the team in rebounding and wreaking a little havoc on the defensive end. Late in the game as Carthage was pressing to try and force mistakes, he intercepted a bad crosscourt pass in the backcourt and took it home with a dunk for emphasis.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ IWU 72 (10-3, 3-1), Augustana 53 (10-2, 2-1)
• @ North Park 70 (4-7, 1-2), Millikin 69 (8-5, 1-3)
• @ Wheaton 97 (9-3, 3-1), Carroll 92 (4-8, 0-3)
• @ Elmhurst 87 (9-3, 2-1), Edgewood 60
• WBK: NCC Bye (3-9, 1-2)

Final Thoughts

Photo from NCC Athletic Department

I think we all knew that this one was going to be a tougher contest than what the Robert Morris game ended up being, and a lot of people were expecting this to be a really good one. The Cardinals surprised with how strong they came out on both ends of the floor. Carthage really struggled early, taking some ill-advised shots, but they really did a great job in their comeback effort. The Cardinals just had an answer for every run, and despite a subpar free throw shooting night, took home a solid win.

This now creates a nice little log jam in the CCIW standings, as the Cardinals are just a game out of first place and half a game out of a CCIW Tournament berth. Obviously it's still very early in the race and a lot can happen, but this Cardinal team is clicking right now. Their next two are on the road, but they're both winnable games against Carroll on Saturday and Millikin on Wednesday, before they return home to take on a resurgent Wheaton team on the 13th.