NCC 67, Carthage 63
Game Summary
This one was not easy as the Red Men (7-10, 2-6) scored the game's first basket and kept the pressure up early. But the Cardinals (14-3, 6-2) stayed with them, taking an early 13-7 lead before the Red Men embarked on a 12-2 run to grab the lead. The rest of the half was somewhat back and forth, with the Red Men holding a five point lead with about two minutes left, but the Cardinals tied the game at 33 on a Mike Pollack three right before the buzzer. That momentum carried over into the second half, with the Cardinals scoring five quick points and forcing a Red Men timeout, but it wasn't quite enough to stop the bleeding as the Cardinals later used a 13-0 run to grab firm control of the game. But the Red Men had one more push in them, following with a 15-4 run to cut it to a one possession game. North Central was able to pull away just enough though thanks to solid efforts in the paint and at the line.
Key Players
- Connor Raridon (NCC): 8-13 FG (0-2 3PT), 12-13 FT; 28 pts, 10 reb (2 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. A week after doing most of his damage distributing the ball, Raridon took a more active role in the offense in this one, especially in the second half where he scored 18 of his points. He was able to get to the basket plenty in this one while also hitting his usual mid range jumpers, and was lethal at the free throw line.
- Kienan Baltimore (CAR): 7-12 FG (0-2 3PT), 4-5 FT; 18 pts, 6 reb. Baltimore came into the game as one of the CCIW's leading scorers, and showed why in this one with a solid offensive performance. He did get away with at least four or five uncalled travels that the crowd clamored for and played a significant chunk of the game in foul trouble. That he remained as effective as he was is a testament to how good a player he is, even if he did flop a couple times. His other major problem was taking care of the ball, as he committed six turnovers.
- Sean Johnson (CAR): 2-7 FG, 1-2 FT; 5 pts, 9 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 8 blk. The big question for this game was how effective the 6'10" center would be, and he was. He picked up a couple early blocks to help set the tone and was a beast on the glass. He also played solid defense for the most part, though the Cardinals did get open looks based off of him switching. Johnson's eight blocks are one shy of the Carthage single game record.
Key Stats
- NCC: 19-22 FT (86.4%). On a night when other shooting was subpar (35.7% from the field, 27.6% from deep), the Cardinals needed to find other ways to get points on the board, and they succeeded at the line. Raridon did most of the damage, but other guys stepped up when they got their trips to the line.
- CAR: 15 turnovers. This is the kind of number you'd see more likely in a women's game than a men's game, but the Red Men didn't take good care of the ball, and it was a big reason why they lost. North Central notched steals for eight of those 15 giveaways, leading to 22 Cardinal points.
CCIW Scoreboard Watch
- AUG 77 (16-1, 8-0), @ WHE 73 (12-5, 5-3)
- IWU 82 (11-6, 4-4), @ ELM 80 (9-8, 4-4)
- MIL 71 (9-7, 3-5), @ NPU 58 (4-13, 2-6)
- Bye: CRL (6-11, 2-6)
- WBK: @ IWU 82 (14-3, 7-1), NCC 77 (3-14, 1-7)
Final Thoughts
The conclusion of Wednesday's games marked the halfway point of CCIW play, so on Thursday I will write up the annual post looking at the CCIW at the halfway point. This means my thoughts on how the conference looks will wait until then.
Last night was an interesting one as Carthage refused to go quietly into the night. A lot of credit has to go to Carthage coach Bosko Djurikovic, who was kind of a treat on the sideline. Beyond just bellowing instructions to his players and getting in officials' ears, he was also talking about flopping I think kind of to the officials as well as to the table, while also having a fun interaction with a fan sitting behind us with a grin on his face. I don't want to say it was a reunion game, per se, but it was kind of cool to get to see 19 minutes of action from Carthage sophomore Brett Czerak, who went to Aurora Central Catholic with my brother, and he acquitted himself pretty well on the night.
The Cardinals kick off the second half on Saturday with a trip up to Carroll. The Cardinals have split with the Pioneers in the first two years since Carroll returned to the CCIW, with one win apiece both at home and on the road.
Last night was an interesting one as Carthage refused to go quietly into the night. A lot of credit has to go to Carthage coach Bosko Djurikovic, who was kind of a treat on the sideline. Beyond just bellowing instructions to his players and getting in officials' ears, he was also talking about flopping I think kind of to the officials as well as to the table, while also having a fun interaction with a fan sitting behind us with a grin on his face. I don't want to say it was a reunion game, per se, but it was kind of cool to get to see 19 minutes of action from Carthage sophomore Brett Czerak, who went to Aurora Central Catholic with my brother, and he acquitted himself pretty well on the night.
The Cardinals kick off the second half on Saturday with a trip up to Carroll. The Cardinals have split with the Pioneers in the first two years since Carroll returned to the CCIW, with one win apiece both at home and on the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment