North Central streaks into conference tournament

On Jan. 3 the North Central men’s basketball team was just barely better than .500, its 6-5 record a byproduct of injuries and an inability to put together a consistent lineup.

Nearly two months — and 12 wins — later, the Cardinals are preparing to host the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament as the No. 1 seed.

“We got healthy,” coach Todd Raridon said Tuesday. “It just seemed like each game we got better and better as a team.”

The result was a remarkable 12-2 tear through CCIW play that included a seven-game winning streak and a 9-1 run that culminated in a regular-season-ending win over Millikin Saturday.

That 91-58 romp allowed North Central (18-7, 12-2) to clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and gave the Cardinals their first outright CCIW championship since 1990. North Central earned the conference’s regular-season crown last season, too, but shared the honor with Augustana.

“To me, it’s just all the hard work our kids and coaching staff have put in,” Raridon said.

The next step would be winning the CCIW Tournament — and earning the conference’s lone automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

North Central will host the two-day, four-team tournament at Merner Field House in Naperville. First-round games are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, and the championship will be decided at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The top-seeded Cardinals get No. 4 Augustana (19-6, 9-5) at 7 p.m. Friday. The teams met twice during the regular season, with North Central squeezing out a pair of tight wins by a total of seven points.

Because the seeds weren’t decided until No. 2 Wheaton (20-5, 11-3) crushed Augustana 74-44 on Tuesday, Raridon said the Cardinals have been doing some self-evaluation at practice this week.

Now that health isn’t as much of an issue — sophomore forward and leading scorer Landon Gamble was the only Cardinal to appear in all 25 games this season — Raridon is fixated on his team’s defense and rebounding.

“We have not had the luxury of having a week off to prepare,” Raridon said. “We’re really working moreso on things we need to improve.”

On the other side of the bracket, Wheaton will play No. 3 Illinois Wesleyan (19-6, 10-4) at 5 p.m. Friday for a spot in the championship game.

Senior forward Tim McCrary leads a Wheaton team that has won its last three games and 11 of 13 overall. The Thunder went 1-1 against Illinois Wesleyan during the regular season, dropping a 87-77 decision in overtime on Jan. 4 but winning 60-53 on Jan. 28.

Benedictine: As Keith Bunkenburg watched his Benedictine men#146;s basketball team grab a 49-47 lead over Aurora after one half of play Tuesday, he couldn#146;t help but worry.Considering the game#146;s breakneck pace, it might as well have been a 10-point deficit.#147;It was not our pace,#148; Bunkenburg said. #147;I told our kids, #145;If we play that way in the second half, we will not win.#148;The Eagles listened to their coach, slowing the pace in the second half to beat Aurora 86-83 and advance to the semifinals of the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament. Benedictine outscored Aurora 37-36 after the intermission, setting up a home game against Edgewood Thursday.Senior Nate Green led Benedictine with 27 points and 7 assists, offsetting a 25-point, 13-rebound performance by Aurora#146;s Ryan Crow. Neither team led by more than nine points the entire game, and Aurora was within one on a dunk by Crow with five seconds to play.#147;It#146;s just one of those games where we know it#146;s going to be an absolute battle,#148; Bunkenburg said. #147;We#146;re lucky to be on the winning end.#148;Benedictine will host Edgewood at 7 p.m. Thursday in a rematch of last season#146;s conference title game, won by the Eagles. At stake is a spot in Saturday#146;s championship game against the winner of a game between Concordia (Wis.) and Lakeland.Wheaton: After closing its regular season with an 80-63 win over Augustana on Tuesday, the Wheaton women#146;s basketball team has set its sights on the CCIW Tournament.The No. 2-seeded Thunder #8212; who won 11 of 12 games to end the regular season #8212; will play No. 3 Carthage at 5 p.m. Friday in Bloomington. Wheaton (18-7, 11-3) has played Carthage twice this season, winning by double-digits both times.#147;They#146;re a very strong team,#148; Wheaton coach Kent Madsen said. #147;They definitely have some strong post players and some nice shooters.#148;No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan (20-5, 13-1) won its fifth consecutive regular season conference title this year and will play No. 4 Millikin (15-10, 7-7) at 7 p.m. Friday. The winners of both games will meet in the tournament finale at 7 p.m. Saturday, with the champion earning the conference#146;s automatic bid in the NCAA Division III Tournament.