NAPERVILLE, Ill. – North Central went on a 13-1 run over a four-minute stretch late in the second half Thursday to take control of its game with Augustana, eventually handing the Vikings a 71-62 setback at Gregory Arena. The defending CCIW-champion Cardinals improved to 3-0 overall and in the league, while Augustana dropped to 0-2 and 0-2, respectively.
 
A Daniel Carr (Regis Jesuit HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) basket with 8:09 to play put Coach Steve Schafer's club on top 50-44, but Michael Pollack answered a three-pointer 30 seconds later to spark the decisive spurt. Another Pollack triple finished off the run, giving the hosts a 57-50 edge at the 4:14 mark. The Vikings pulled to within four (57-53) on Carter Duwa's (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) layup with 3:32 left, before North Central tallied eight straight to put the contest away.
 
Augustana held the Cardinals without a field for the game's first six minutes, but struggled to score as well early. A basket by freshman Tyler Knuth (Guilford HS, Rockford, Ill.) staked the guests to a 10-8 lead midway through the first half. Three-pointers by Luke Johnson (Longmont HS, Longmont, Colo.), Justin Bottorff (Quincy Notre Dame HS, Quincy, Ill.) and Carr stretched the margin to 19-14 and the Vikings took their biggest lead of the half (29-23) on another Carr trey at the 2:26 mark. They matched that six-point lead on a Duwa basket before Matt Helwig's layup beat the halftime buzzer and cut the North Central deficit to 31-27 at the break.
 
There were four ties and four lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Nate Ortiz's (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.) three-pointer with 8:09 to play put Augustana on top 48-44 and Carr's field goal a minute later made it 50-44, equaling the Vikings' biggest lead of the night. However, Pollack's triple at 7:38 ignited the Cardinals' closing burst.
 
Carr and Bottorff each scored a career-high 16 points to lead Augustana. Carr also snared a game-high 11 rebounds. Duwa chipped in with 10 points. Helwig led the Cardinals with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Vikings shot .371 (23-62) from the field, .261 (6-23) from three-point range and .667 (10-15) from the foul line. North Central connected on 21 of 58 (.362) from the field, seven of 29 (.241) from long range and 22 of 28 (.786) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals held a 45-36 edge on the glass and committed nine turnovers to 10 for Augustana.
 
The teams will be back in action at Carver Center on Saturday, January 30 with tipoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m.