Game Notes: (MBK) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology @ North Central College (11/25/19)

Final Score
NCC 77, RHIT 54

Game Summary
The Engineers (2-3) had a good first couple minutes, winning the opening tip and taking a 9-6 lead just four and a half minutes in. Then the bottom fell out as the Cardinals (2-1) shook off their ten day rust and began to open fire from deep. Leading 16-14 after an Engineer three, the Cardinals went on a 15-4 run to take a double digit lead and never looked back, with a Connor Raridon jumper beating the halftime buzzer to give North Central a 42-26 advantage at the break. The Cardinals effectively put the game away a minute into the second half when, after Blaise Meredith hit a three, Aiden Chang came from out of nowhere to steal the inbounds pass and fed Matt Cappelletti for a three-point play, which prompted Engineer coach Rusty Lloyd to make a wholesale line change. The Engineers would climb back to within 15, but a 9-0 run served as the final dagger. North Central would lead by as many as 29 as Todd Raridon was able to empty his bench in the final minutes.

Key Players

• Will Clausel (NCC): 7-9 FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2 FT; 19 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast. The Swiss Army Knife continues his torrid play to start the season. He went 5-5, including 3-3 from deep in the first half, and I caught him grinning after hitting his third as he helped his team grab firm control of this one. He was a key piece last year, and is only getting better as the sixth man on this year's squad.
• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 4-9 FG (2-6 3PT), 1-1 FT; 11 pts, 7 reb (4 off), 1 ast, 1 stl. It was such a good team effort last night that it was hard to pick a second guy from the Cardinals, but coming off a 47 point effort, Cap settled into his more traditional role of an inside-out big. He launched several times from his sweet spot in the corner, but only managed to hit a pair of them. His seven rebounds though tied a game high with Connor Raridon, and he had the and-one that all but sealed the deal early in the second half.
• Eli Combs (RHIT): 3-7 FG (1-2 3PT), 2-2 FT; 9 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast. With leading scorer Craig McGee out of commission, the Engineers needed someone to step up, but no Rose-Hulman player cracked double figures, with Combs leading the way, albeit somewhat inefficiently. He also battled some foul trouble in this one.

Key Stats

• NCC: 15-36 3PT (41.7%). Rose-Hulman is a fairly big, physical team. They did a pretty good job limiting the Cardinals in the paint (they had just 16). Of course, this opened up plenty of opportunities on the perimeter... which the Cardinals gladly took advantage of. Their 36 attempts are the most since they took 42 in a loss to Carthage in 2016, while the 15 make are tied for the fourth most in a game in program history. Getting a game plan right in my wheelhouse and succeeding? Always fun.
• RHIT: Outrebounded by NCC 38-27. I mentioned that they're a big, physical team, but they almost didn't play like it on the glass. Their starting lineup featured a trio of 6'2" guards and two 6'7" forwards. On paper, they should have had the advantage. In reality, the Cardinals did a good job boxing out and controlled the glass against a bigger team, something they've done before, but it was a little surprising to look at the box and see the disparity be that wide.

Final Thoughts

Rose-Hulman is not a bad team. They've been competitive in the HCAC, and the Cardinals beat them in their lone other matchup in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. I figured this would be a win, but that the Engineers would make it a good game. I was a little surprised to see the Cardinals dominate the way they did. But when you're hot, you're hot, and the Cardinals were hot most of the night last night.

It's a good win, but the Cardinals don't have a ton of time to celebrate. They're right back at it tonight as The Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue is renewed at Gregory Arena when Benedictine comes calling.