Game Notes: (MBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/24/18)

Final Score
NCC 75, Millikin 49

Game Summary
This game had a very unique start, as the Big Blue (8-10, 1-8) were assessed an administrative technical foul before the opening tip due to their failure to submit their starting lineup on time. Mike Pollack sank the technical free throw to put the Cardinals (13-5, 6-3) on top from the very get-go, and it was all North Central from there. The Cardinals opened the game on a 12-0 run, technical free throw included, and kept it up defensively en route to a 17-2 lead eight minutes in. The Big Blue started to get some offense going after that stretch but couldn't survive an all out barrage from beyond the arc, as the Cardinals pushed the lead as high as 21 before taking a 44-25 lead into the break. Millikin came out of the locker room reasonably strong, cutting North Central's lead to 13, but the Cardinals pulled away again, pushing the lead back to 20 about six minutes later. The Cardinals would lead by as many as 27, with Todd Raridon calling off the dogs in the final couple minutes.

Key Stats

• NCC: 17-40 3PT (42.5%). This was the major storyline of the game for the Cardinals. Faced with a changing zone defense from Millikin (they started with a 3-2, went to a 1-3-1 for a while before returning to that base 3-2), the Cardinals opted for a long range barrage from beyond the arc. It was incredibly effective, as the Cardinals finished the first half 11-20 from deep. They cooled off in the second half, but it was still an effective weapon. Their 17 threes set a new program record.
• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 7-13 FG (5-10 3PT), 0-1 FT; 19 pts, 7 reb (2 off), 2 ast. On a night where Alex Sorenson was held in check (8 points on 3-8 shooting, but a game high 9 rebounds), Cap was the main offensive force for the Cardinals, burying multiple corner threes to help the Cardinals pull away early in this one. He also did a good job on the glass, with the second highest rebounding total on the team and matching Millikin's best rebounder.
• Korbin Farmer (MIL): 5-5 FG; 10 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 1 blk. Farmer had an excellent game off the bench for the Big Blue, doing a good job defensively down low on guys like Alex Sorenson while also contributing a perfect shooting day on the offensive end. He had a good blend of jumpers and post moves to get to double figures.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• AUG 86 (15-3, 7-2), @ WHE 84 (13-5, 6-3)
• IWU 93 (15-3, 8-1), @ ELM 76 (11-7, 4-5)
• CRL 84 (6-12, 2-7), @ NPU 66 (4-13, 1-8)
• Bye: CAR (10-7, 5-3)
• WBK: @ IWU 108 (16-2, 9-0), NCC 54 (4-14, 2-7)

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned up in the Game Summary, I've never seen a start to the game like last night's. Per the NCAA rulebook, rosters and starting lineups must be entered into the official scorebook by the ten minute mark of warmups. Our official scorer always gets the rosters in in time, but we make sure the coaches get the lineups in by that time. At about the 16 minute mark, he asked their head coach, who said he was still thinking about it. Granted, Millikin was missing its top scorer Elijah Henry last night, and that threw a monkey wrench into things, but you have to be aware of that rule. The scorer even went to check outside their locker room to see if an assistant was out there to come mark starters down in time, but no one was there. As such, they were assessed an administrative technical foul before the opening tip, which resulted in one free throw. Mike Pollack came out to take that free throw and immediately went back to the bench, which is allowed by the rule. I've only worked one other game where an administrative tech was called (a women's game a few years back where I think NCC didn't have correct uniform numbers for some of the players), so this is pretty rare.

Big picture wise, this was a game the Cardinals needed to win after a tough loss at Elmhurst this past Saturday. Millikin hasn't been very good this season, and you have to defend your home court, especially against an inferior team. The Cardinals did this last night, although they did commit more turnovers than they probably should have. They could get away with it last night, but they won't on Saturday, as they welcome Elmhurst to Gregory Arena for a revenge game.