From University of Chicago Athletics
The University of Chicago men's basketball team got its offense back on track and defeated North Central College 74-61 on Sunday at the North Central Tip-off Tournament.
In their first matchup between the two teams since the 1996-97 season, the No. 17-ranked Maroons improved to 2-2 and the Cardinals fell to 1-1. At the end of the tournament, senior forward Alex Voss was named Tournament MVP and senior guard Jordan Smith was picked to the All-Tournament Team.
UChicago jumped out to an early 13-6 lead thanks to three-pointers by Voss and senior guard Scott Herlihy. The duo then hit a pair of treys again to expand the lead to 22-11. Those baskets came during a critical 15-0 run over a six-minute stretch in the middle of the first half. Smith swished a three-pointer with seven seconds left in the half to stake the Maroons to a 38-21 lead.
UChicago outshot North Central by 20 percentage points on field goals in the half – 43 percent to 23 percent. Herlihy was a big contributor to the cause after junior point guard Tyler Howard picked up two fouls in the opening four minutes. The senior scored 10 points in relief, while senior forward Nate Brooks and junior forward Waller Perez tallied eight points each.
The second half saw the Maroons maintain a double-digit advantage almost the whole way through. The closest the Cardinals would come was eight points at 47-39. But UChicago kept executing and kept the game out of reach.
The 74 points were a season-best total for the Maroons. The visitors led in rebounds 42-41 and in second-chance points 21-10. Turnovers were even at seven for each team.
Five different Maroons recorded double digits in points, including Perez (16), Brooks (15), Herlihy (12), Smith (11) and Voss (11).
UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 43.9 percent (25-57)
Three-point Percentage – 34.6 percent (9-26)
Free-throw Percentage – 65.2 percent (15-23)
Waller Perez (Forward, Jr.) – 16 points, 6 rebounds
Nate Brooks (Forward, Sr.) – 15 points, 6 rebounds
Scott Herlihy (Guard, Sr.) – 12 points, 5 rebounds