The North Central men’s basketball team upset top-ranked Augustana College 68-63 Thursday as Gregory Arena was treated to a court-storming by fans.
This win against a top-ranked team is just the second in the program’s history. The previous win goes back to 2006 when North Central defeated Illinois Wesleyan on the road, 74-70.
People could probably hear the home crowd from downtown Naperville as the fans were just as passionate as the players.
“Beating Augustana at home was a good win for us. I don’t think we played particularly well at their place, but we definitely played better this time around,” Head Coach Todd Raridon said.
The largest lead of the night was for Augustana when they jumped out to a 29-21 lead with 3:14 to play in the first half, but the Cardinals kept hanging around and made a push in the second half to secure the victory.
Matt Cappelletti, ‘20, and Blaise Meredith, ‘21, both led the way for the Cardinals with 18 points each. Connor Raridon, ‘20, also contributed with 13 points and four assists.
With the devastating injuries of senior leaders Aiden Chang and Jack Bronec early on in the season, the Cardinals had to work hard to maintain their competitive edge. That edge shows no sign of fading as they now sit at No. 22 in the nation and 18-3 for the season and now can add an impressive victory to their improbable season.
“Since we’ve lost Jack, our post, we’ve been at a disadvantage almost the whole year,” Raridon said, “Matt and Connor have pretty much stepped up helping the inside defensively.”
The next game for the Cardinals isn’t until next Wednesday when they host Illinois Wesleyan at 7 p.m. in Gregory Arena.
