Naperville, Ill. - Playing their first game over the holiday break since December 19th, the Illinois Tech men's basketball team had a competitive first half against North Central College before falling to the host Cardinals 83-57 Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 3-9 overall. The Cardinals improved to 4-9.

Three-point shooting was the difference in the ball game. Even though the Scarlet Hawks shot a little better than their season average from the three-point line (36% vs 32% season average) on 5 of 14 shooting, the Cardinals shot a season-high 55% from behind the arc, connecting on 11 of 20 attempts.

First Half (North Central  36 - Illinois Tech 30)
The first half was closely contested, with six lead changes in the first five minutes of the half, and two tie scores. A Caden Gigstad three-pointer at the 15:39 mark gave the Scarlet Hawks a 12-11 lead, which unfortunately would turn out to be their final lead of the ball game. An 8-2 run by the Cardinals put the hosts up 19-14 at the 12:17 mark. The teams traded baskets over the next seven minutes before another three-pointer by Gigstad at the 3:58 mark capped off a 5-0 Scarlet Hawks run, tying the score at 25-25. North Central responded with an 11-5 run to close out the half for a six-point lead. Gigstad paced the Hawks with 10 points in the opening frame.

Second Half (North Central 47 - Illinois Tech 27)
North Central used their momentum from the end of the first half to expand their lead in the second half. A Tyler Swierczek three-pointer at the 9:53 mark capped off a 22-12 run by the Cardinals, giving them a 58-42 lead. A DeAndre Vortes steal and layup at the 7:17 mark pulled the Scarlet Hawks within 14 points at 62-48, but the visitors would get no closer. The Cardinals outscored the Hawks 21-9 the rest of the way for a 26-point margin of victory. Garrison Carter led the Hawks with 10 points in the second half.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Garrison Carter led with 14 points and added 4 rebounds.
• Caden Gigstad had 12 points, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, and 4 rebounds.
• Joshua Iguade tallied 3 blocks.
• Rodney Murphy led the team with 5 rebounds, including 4 offensive boards.

Cardinals Watch

• Ethan Helwig paced the Cardinals with 19 points, including 5 of 9 from behind the arc.
• Ken Thomas with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Tyler Swierczek with 17 points (3 of 4 from three-point range), and 3 assists.

Inside The Box Score

• The Cardinals had a 15-4 advantage in second chance points.
• After turning the ball over a season-high 22 times in their last game against Wisconsin Lutheran, the Scarlet Hawks improved to their season average of 14 against the Cardinals.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks return to the Keating Center on Wednesday night, when they host Edgewood at 7:00 PM in a resumption of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.