NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Carroll men's basketball (2-7, 0-3 CCIW) fell to North Central (8-2, 2-1 CCIW) in the closing seconds for the second time in three matchups Saturday night, losing by a score of 68-66. The heartbreaking loss extends Carroll's losing streak to six games. There were three total lead changes and 13 ties, all in the second half of the entertaining CCIW bout. 

The leading scorer was Cardinal graduate senior Ethan Helwig, who scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds, highlighted by the game-sealing shot with 3 seconds left. Carroll was led in scoring by junior guard Evan Bland, who had 13 points and a pair of made threes. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Pioneers were the senior brothers from Spokane, Eckahelo Simpson and Kobe Simpson who contributed 11 and 10, respectively. 

It was all Carroll in the first half, as the Pioneers shot over 44 percent from the field and made five threes to give them a 12-point advantage going into the break. Carroll held the lead for the entirety of the first half, as they limited North Central to just over 29 percent from the field. 

North Central responded in the second half, using an 18-6 run to tie the game just over eight minutes into the second half. Both teams went blow for blow for the remainder of the game, with neither team separating by more than one possession. Carroll's big man Jacob Naber made two shots at the charity stripe to tie the game at 66 with 15 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, North Central saw a shot go down by way of putback tip-in with three seconds on the clock. Carroll's desperation shot at the buzzer did not fall, and Carroll left Naperville with a crushing defeat. 

Carroll will take a break from CCIW play and return to action when they travel to Fort Lauderdale. Fla. to participate in the Cruizin Classic, hosted by Trip Sports. Carroll will face UMass-Dartmouth on day one, with tip-off coming at 10am EST from St. Thomas University in Miami Shores, Fla.