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.