Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team dropped to 5-13 overall and 0-7 in CCIW play after falling to North Central College 72-71 in the closing seconds of the contest.

North Central's Brian Evans drove the length of the court and hit a lay-up with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals the victory. Evans, who was fouled in the process of scoring, missed the free throw and time expired on the rebound to give North Central (9-9, 2-5 CCIW) the victory.

Elmhurst led 39-34 at halftime and built a 57-43 second half advantage, but a seven minute scoreless stretch forced the Bluejays to rally. Leading 59-47 with 11:30 left on the clock, the Bluejays went cold from the floor allowing North Central to turn a 12-point deficit into a seven-point lead with a 19-0 run.

Back-to-back treys by Elmhurst cut the Cardinals' lead down to just one (66-65) with three minutes to play. North Central pushed its lead back to five points with 1:47 remaining. Dustin Bainter hit four straight free throws to cut the Cardinals' lead down to one with a minute to go.

After Evans missed a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left, Zack Boyd gave the Bluejays the lead with a reverse scoop lay-up with 7.2 ticks left on the clock. 

Bainter  poured in 25 points to pace the Bluejays in the loss. Bainter added a team-leading seven rebounds and two steals. Boyd totaled 15 points while Matt Bernier came off the bench to score eight. Aaron Schroeder finished with seven points. Chris Childs totaled six points and a team-leading five assists.

Derek Raridon led the Cardinals with a double-double, totaling 27 points and 10 rebounds. Evans also finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Reid Barringer added 18 points for North Central.

Elmhurst finished the game shooting 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the floor, including 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from downtown. 

North Central shot 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from the field, including 30.0 percent (3-of-10) from beyond the arc.

Elmhurst travels to Augustana College on Saturday, January 30.