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At the Hangar:
Elmhurst 72, North Central 61
The Cardinals, who are second in the nation in free throw percentage, shot a perfect 14-of-14 from the line in this one. And that was probably because those are the only shots that Jonathan Zapinski and the rest of the Blue Jays are prohibited from interfering with. Elmhurst was stout defensively from stem to stern today, forcing 15 turnovers, blocking seven shots, and making basically every possession a struggle for the Cardinals. The Jays struggled at times offensively themselves, but it is clear with their fourth straight win that they have started to click and become more akin to the team they were expected to be at the start of the season.
North Central shot just 36% for the game, and just 26% (8-of-29) in the second half. Their 12-of-26 (46%) first half tally masks the fact that Mitch Lewis did Mitch Lewis things in the final six minutes before the break, hitting his final six shots and boosting a struggling Cardinal offense by scoring the team's final 14 points and single-handedly turning a 26-20 deficit into a 34-31 Cardinal lead that was largely against the run of play. Notably, all of this was done from outside as Zapinski more or less made the area within six feet of the basket a no-fly zone for the Cardinals.
Elmhurst
John Ittounas 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and one really feathery touch
Ocean Johnson 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
Wesley Hooker 11 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tagen Pearson 10 points
Jonathan Zapinski 6 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks
North Central
Mitch Lewis 20 points, 4 blocks in 25 minutes
Matt Helwig 12 points, 7 rebounds
John Blumeyer 11 and 5
Shea Cupples 11 points
Tipoff for North Central-Elmhurst is delayed due to an issue with one of the backboards at the Hangar.
In related news, this is the last time Jim Miller lets Lucas practice his dunks before sidling over to the microphone for his gameday duties.
At the hangar in Napervegas, North Central never pulled away from lowly Edgewood, but still had a sufficient cushion to pull out an 80-71 victory without giving any of the home fans serious heart palpitations. The Cardinals (7-5) got almost half of their points from the Helwig brothers (Matt with 26, Ethan with 13), and Mitch Lewis contributed a 15 and 13 performance to the NCC side of the ledger.
I feel weird calling a nine point win closer than what the score suggested, but it really was. In a game with 11 ties and 8 lead changes, it took until about the eight minute mark in the game for the Cardinals to take the lead for good, and even the Cardinals got a couple late baskets that pushed a two score game to the final margin.
This was the first time I got to see Mitch Lewis play… wow.
The Cardinals survived the onslaught of Edgewood’s 6’7” 300 pound Jake “The Student Body” Schroeckenthaler who hit the Redbirds with a monstrous double-double of 29 points, and 14 rebounds.
NCC’s Matt Lewis has had 78 minutes of PT since joining the team 5 games ago. In those 78 minutes (15.6 MPG) he has scored 69 points.
Congrats to another former Titan Mike Murray as the new head football coach at Elmhurst University.
I like this hire. Mike knows the CCIW as well as anyone and he is defensive minded. I have heard mixed opinions on his personality, though I have personally never met him. I know his defenses caused a lot of pain in the CCIW over many years (IWU and NCC). If he can get players (a big if) I think he will do a good job. Very solid football mind.
Does anyone know what side Mount Union is on. Thanks and safe travels Raider fans.
is d3football.com going to have any articles this week? seems pretty light for a Stagg Bowl week
It's light so far, for sure, and we will. There was no Monday media conference sponsored by the NCAA this year, and Mount Union did not respond to our request for early-in-the-week access. But North Central did, and our story on them will go up later this afternoon.
Mount Union's appearance at Media Day at the Stagg is later this afternoon and Greg Thomas is there to get whatever he can and write tonight.
Note to NCC. Unless you're Tiger Woods, Red over Black is not a pleasant look.
Here's hoping that NCC will take Mount lightly and be somewhat over-confident. Possible?
In a Stagg Bowl? Against a team wearing purple with "Mount Union" on their uniforms? Dream on.
Face it, the Raiders are prisoners of their own reputation. That's the price you pay for a baker's dozen Walnut & Bronze trophies over the past three decades and the constant trumpeting about "the machine" by the UMU fanbase. For the foreseeable future the Raiders most likely will always get the best effort a November or December opponent has to offer. They've earned that expectation. Plus, it's unimaginable that players would do anything less than to step onto the field for a Stagg Bowl prepared to play the best game of their lives against a team that has earned their respect but not their fear.
NCC "take Mount lightly and be somewhat overconfident"? Not in this universe.
Minor news relative to the big game this week, but IWU OC Reed Hoskins has been named Head Coach at Simpson College.
Wow. That’s a bit of a surprise. Does Norm get to leave on his own terms when he’s ready?
Was Hoskins regarded as Norm's heir apparent? I'm less in-the-know about CCIW football coaches than I am about CCIW basketball coaches.
Minor news relative to the big game this week, but IWU OC Reed Hoskins has been named Head Coach at Simpson College.
Coach Sirianni wearing a Purple Raiders sweatshirt to his press conference today... that's the Mount Union difference
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1602389205879246848?s=20&t=3FSxxxM5mJ_2Hk4bXu3dtg
12 mins or so in
since the D3 guys are struggling for Mount Union content lately
I saw Cusumano limping after a couple of plays late in the game as well.
I saw CardinalAlum limping after the game in the parking lot. He will be day to day before Annapolis.
Great season from UMHB. Obviously not the way I (or anyone else on this side) anticipated it going, but that shouldn't take away from what this team and this senior class accomplished. Crazy to think that we will head into next season without guys like KJ, Kyle and Brandon...I began covering UMHB in the fall of 2020, so it has been really cool to see all three of them (notably Kyle) develop over their time with the Cru...certainly hope those three get some opportunities to continue their careers professionally. This senior class as a whole was really special.
UMHB will retain a lot of talent heading into next year...the Cru will be ready come 2023!
https://truetothecru.com/2022/12/10/north-central-ends-umhb-footballs-2022-season-in-49-14-loss-for-the-cru/
Had a great conversation with NCC HC Brad Spencer earlier this week. He has really done a fantastic job continuing the success of the program. 24 consecutive years now at NCC for him.
https://truetothecru.com/2022/12/09/north-central-seeking-third-straight-stagg-bowl-appearance-entering-matchup-against-umhb/
