The 21st-ranked Cardinals played their most impressive game of the season in upsetting the visiting Thunder to improve to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the CCIW. Wheaton fell to 10-2/0-1.
North Central shot an incredible 62 percent from the field during the game and had 19 assists versus only eight turnovers. Defensively, the Cardinals held Wheaton to 38 percent shooting (28 percent in the second half) and had eight blocks.
“Wheaton’s a very good basketball team,” said head coach Todd Raridon. “I thought in the first half, we didn’t play very well or react to their pressure yet we still led by four. In the second half, I thought we put the pressure on them and we were able to hit our open shots.”
North Central led 39-35 at halftime, but Wheaton came out firing and tied the game at 41s after back-to-back three-pointers by Jon Nielson. The Cardinals responded and after a steal and dunk by Daniel Walton (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North), North Central pushed the lead out to 14 at 56-42 with 15:15 on the clock.
North Central later went up by 21 with 9:30 to go after a conventional three-point play by Mike Wilson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central). Wilson scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, including four three-pointers. Walton finished with 21 points and Anthony Simmons (Bolingbrook, Ill./Romeoville) added 13 off the bench.
Wheaton was led by Kent Raymond’s 16 points and six rebounds. Nielson added 10 off the bench.
In the first half, North Central shot 58 percent from the field (15 of 26). Walton was 6 of 9 for 12 points and Simmons added 10 (6 of 7 from the free-throw line). Raymond drained 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and had 11 first-half points to lead the Thunder.
The Cardinals led by as many as nine points (29-20) early after Simmons hit 2 of 2 from the line with under five minutes remaining in the half. Raymond promptly hit a three-pointer off a screen at the top of the key that cut the lead back to six at 29-23. Andrew Lettinga cut the deficit to two for the Thunder after a layup inside with 2:24 on the clock. A bucket inside from Walton later stretched the lead back out to six at 39-33, but Raymond drained two from the charity stripe with under a minute left to make the score 39-35 at the break.
North Central plays at Carthage College (Wis.) Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.