PICTURED ABOVE: Jonathan Berntsen led Wheaton with 16 points and six assists in Wheaton's 71-67 loss at North Central on Saturday night.

Naperville, Ill. - A spirited effort fell just short on Saturday night as the Thunder dropped a 71-67 contest at #17-ranked North Central. Wheaton rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit to earn a late first-half lead before heading to the locker room tied at 36-36. In a back-and-forth second half, Wheaton rallied from deficits of eight and seven points to cut the lead down to two points in the final seconds but could not pull even in falling to 5-15 overall and 1-8 in CCIW play. The Cardinals improve to 15-5 overall and 8-1 in conference play.

North Central jumped out a quick 19-9 lead and led again by ten points at 21-11 with 10:51 to play. consecutive three-pointers by Michael Winowiecki (PICTURED RIGHT) and Jonathan Berntsen were followed by a Joel Smith layup to construct an 8-0 Thunder lead and cut the Cardinals' lead to two points. Another Winowiecki three would later cut the lead to one point before a Ricky Samuelson triple gave Wheaton a 27-26 lead with 5:22 remaining in the half. Winowiecki's steal and layup late in the half would give Wheaton its largest lead of the night at four points, but a North Central three-pointer with one minute left in the half tied the score at halftime.

Layups by Michael Berg and Samuelson early in the second half gave Wheaton brief leads but an extended 10-0 Cardinal run pushed the hosts ahead 50-42 with 12:43 to play. Winowiecki's fourth three-pointer of the night and a Berg jumper pulled Wheaton within two points at 55-53 with 7:58 to play before the Cardinals slowly pulled out to a seven-point edge with 4:12 to play in the half at 63-56. Baskets by Murad Dillard and Berg would get Wheaton back to within three points at 65-62 with 2:17 to play but four-straight North Central free throws pushed the edge back to seven with 1:44 to play.

Another three-pointer by Samuelson cut the lead to four and a late layup by Berntsen pulled Wheaton within 69-67 but two late free throws by the Cardinals iced the upset attempt and gave the Cardinals the 71-67 victory.

Berntsen and Winowiecki led the Thunder with 16 points apiece. For Winowiecki, the 16 points established a new career-high. Ricky Samuelson added 11 points and Michael Berg posted 10 points and nine rebounds. Alex Sorenson led North Central with game-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Wheaton shot 37.3% (25-of-67) from the field and a similar 37.5% (9-for-24) from beyond the arc. The Thunder shot 66.7% (8-of-12) from the charity stripe. North Central shot 47.2% (25-for-53) from the field and 36.4% (8-of-22) from the three-point line. The Cardinals made 13-of--20 free throw attempts for a 65% clip. North Central narrowly won the rebounding battle 38-34 with Wheaton holding a 12-7 edge in offensive boards. Wheaton committed just six turnovers while forcing 11 Cardinal miscues.

Wheaton will play host to North Park on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in King Arena.