MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Augie6]

Augie up 47-29 at the half vs EC.  Augie shooting 56%, with Dylan Sortillo leading the way with 19 pts.  EC has turned the ball over 11 times. 

[Augie6]

Augie beats EC 85-69.  Augie pretty much dominated this one from the middle of the 1st half on.

[markerickson]

NPU has been on cruise control since halftime, but I missed the first half.  Currently up 81-56 with five minutes to play.  I believe this is the first time this season the Vikings have extended a lead beyond 16 points in conference play.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 83
Millikin 56

Jordan Robinson: 31 pts, 14 rebs
Juwan Henry: 17 pts
T.J. Cobbs: 3:1 a:to

Zach Fisher: 21 pts
Tyler Pygon: 15 pts

Didn't get to see much of this game, as I was calling the women's game in the crackerbox, but NPU apparently put Monday night's wakeup call to good use tonight. The Vikings outrebounded MU 40-18, something I didn't think was possible with this Vikings team.

Jordan Robinson is playing at a level where, if he keeps it up, the d3hoops.com folks have to look at him seriously as a national POY candidate, even though he's only a junior.

[Gregory Sager]

North Central knocks off Wheaton in two overtimes, 88-82. I watched the second OT, and it was the first time in 25 years that I saw a Wheaton team get outconditioned, as the Cards had legs and WC didn't. That's a tribute to Wheaton's program under Bill Harris and Mike Schauer -- and to this shorthanded North Central team.

[tjcummingsfan]

I'll be honest, NP made me a little nervous towards the end of the first half.  At one time in first I believe they led by as much as 26, but at the half Millikin had cut it to 15... I was definitely concerned that NP would let their foot off the gas even further and we'd have a close game in the second half. 

Fortunately the Vikings extended their lead when the second half began to 18, then 21 and you're right Mark, it was like they were on cruise control the rest of the half.  The big difference is that this cruise control was at the speed they should be at.  Hopefully this gave the Vikings a taste of winning big, extending a lead, and putting a team away early. 

[Gregory Sager]

Significant upset at Tarble tonight as Carroll knocks off Carthage, 81-76.

[augiefan]

I think this was a huge win for North Central, if Raridon is back in action Saturday. Going to 3-4 in conference as opposed to 2-5 gives NC a good shot at getting into the conference tourney, if Raridon is returning at full speed. Based on what I saw of Elmhurst tonight, NC will not need him on Saturday to win that game.

[4samuy]

North Park 83
Millikin 56

Jordan Robinson: 31 pts, 14 rebs
Juwan Henry: 17 pts
T.J. Cobbs: 3:1 a:to

Zach Fisher: 21 pts
Tyler Pygon: 15 pts

Didn't get to see much of this game, as I was calling the women's game in the crackerbox, but NPU apparently put Monday night's wakeup call to good use tonight. The Vikings outrebounded MU 40-18, something I didn't think was possible with this Vikings team.

Jordan Robinson is playing at a level where, if he keeps it up, the d3hoops.com folks have to look at him seriously as a national POY candidate, even though he's only a junior.

How many times does Jordan Robinsons name need to continue to be mentioned on these boards. I don't care if he's a Junior, Freshman or in High School. This guy has it all. Mid range, long range, in the paint, vision, unselfish.  I know there are some outstanding players in D3, because I've seen many of them, but for Jordan to do what he is doing playing along side another All American is quite remarkable.

[Gregory Sager]

I'll be honest, NP made me a little nervous towards the end of the first half.  At one time in first I believe they led by as much as 26, but at the half Millikin had cut it to 15...

It was 27, actually, as NPU led 47-20, at one point in the first half.

I was definitely concerned that NP would let their foot off the gas even further and we'd have a close game in the second half. 

Fortunately the Vikings extended their lead when the second half began to 18, then 21 and you're right Mark, it was like they were on cruise control the rest of the half.  The big difference is that this cruise control was at the speed they should be at.  Hopefully this gave the Vikings a taste of winning big, extending a lead, and putting a team away early.

Exactly. I've already mentioned how NPU has had second-half double-digit leads in 13 of the 15 games the Vikes had played prior to tonight, and they've had ten of those 13 leads cut to a single basket or worse. Tonight NPU finally put its foot on the neck of an opponent and kept it there until the final buzzer.

[4samuy]

I think this was a huge win for North Central, if Raridon is back in action Saturday. Going to 3-4 in conference as opposed to 2-5 gives NC a good shot at getting into the conference tourney, if Raridon is returning at full speed. Based on what I saw of Elmhurst tonight, NC will not need him on Saturday to win that game.

I actually kind of liked what I saw in Elmhurst tonight. I get what you're saying because they started four freshman, but it seemed as if they played without fear.  As I watched the game I couldn't help but think about what Baines pre game speech sounded like. " guys lets go out and play hard, don't be afraid of making mistakes and if you have the ball behind the arc and are feeling it let it go".  It was actually quite entertaining for a bunch of young guys IMHO.

[GoPerry]

North Central 86
Wheaton 82

Aston Francis  24 pts, 7 rebs, 6 stls, 9 turnovers
Jake Mlagan  12 pts, 5 rebs, 2 stls
Spencer Peterson, 13 pts, 5 rebs

Alex Sorenson, 23 pts, 15 rebs (9 off)
Aiden Chang, 19 pts
Matt Cappelletti, 13 pts, 13 rebs (5 off)
Tommy Koth, 12 pts, 8 assts

The Thunder had their chances to win, despite really atrocious rebounding(-14) including -10 on the offensive glass (and that seems low).  The only Wheaton player capable of checking 6'8" 240lb jr Alex Sorenson down low was 6'5" 230lb freshman Spencer Petersen, but giving up 3 inches was an awful lot to ask.  Both teams had golden opportunities to win in the 1st OT but freshman Jake Mlagan couldn't get the 2nd free throw tiebreaker to go with 8 secs left.  NCC then took it straight down the court but Jaquan Phipps missed a wide open layup with 1 second left.  The 2nd OT was NCC executing well and Wheaton not so much – 4 guys in white looking for Francis to do something resulting in missed shots and turnovers.

Aiden Chang is very solid.  He hit some huge baskets down the stretch, broke down the defense with some drives, and really played well in the OTs.  NCC played with more poise overall and more offensive weapons.  For Wheaton, Ricky Samuelson had a tough shooting night, 2/9, and if he's not hitting, then the offense really gets too Francis-centric.  Despite the missed free throw, freshman Mlagan continues to play well, rewarded with deserved minutes at crunch time.  Overall, consistent defense continues to be a challenge for the Thunder.

[tjcummingsfan]

At least once on the Wheaton video feed I noticed someone on the NCC bench with a cast on.  I'm assuming that is Raridon.  If he still has a cast on today, playing Saturday seems like a stretch, no?  Even if it comes off tomorrow or Friday, that seems like a potentially unnecessary risk, both physically, and execution-wise (as good as Raridon is, I can't imagine he could jump right back in at game speed). 

[iwu70]

I agree the Carthage loss to Carroll is big.

IWU'70

[AppletonRocks]

Significant upset at Tarble tonight as Carroll knocks off Carthage, 81-76.

That may be a bit of an overstatement, Greg.