NCC Roundup: Cardinals Exit Playoffs Abruptly

Reminiscent of its only other loss of the season, the football team saw a second-half lead evaporate and its tenure in the NCAA Division III Football Championship come to a close, as the Cardinals lost a 29-28 heartbreaker to the undefeated Wabash College Little Giants on Nov. 26 at Hollett Little Giant Stadium.

The Cardinals (10-2) owned a 21-0 advantage at halftime and held a 28-7 lead in the third period, but a prolific passing effort fueled a furious comeback for Wabash, which scored 22 fourth-quarter points.

"Wabash played a terrific game," Cardinals coach John Thorne. "We wish them a lot of luck as they move forward in the playoffs."

Fans and supporters of North Central athletics have the opportunity to support senior defensive tackle Peter Bulandr's candidacy for the premier individual award in NCAA Division III football, as fan voting for the 2011 Gagliardi Trophy is currently under way at D3football.com.

Bulandr, a senior economics major from Long Grove, is one of 10 finalists for this year's award, which has been presented since 1993 in recognition of excellence in athletics, academics, and community service.

Bulandr is one of two defensive players still being considered for the award, joining University of Mount Union (Ohio) defensive back Alex Ferrara. Also among the group are University of Wisconsin-Whitewater quarterback Matt Blanchard, Widener University (Pa.) quarterback Chris Haupt, Cortland State University (N.Y.) quarterback Dan Pitcher, Monmouth College (Ill.) quarterback Alex Tanney, College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) quarterback Alex Thiry, Johns Hopkins University (Md.) quarterback Hewitt Tomlin, University of St. Thomas (Minn.) wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel, and University of Dubuque (Iowa) wide receiver Michael Zweifel.

Bulandr is a three-year starter for the Cardinals. He was named the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Defensive Player of the Year, as well as a First Team All-CCIW selection, this season and leads the CCIW in quarterback sacks (6.5). He was a two-time D3football.com Team of the Week selection and recorded three quarterback sacks against Bethel University (Tenn.) on Sept. 10 to match the second-highest single-game total in school history.

He helped lead a North Central defense which posted shutouts against three conference opponents, which had not been done by a Cardinal team since 1958 and had not been done by any CCIW team since 1996. The Cardinals went a perfect 7-0 in CCIW play for the second straight year in 2011 and won their sixth straight CCIW Championship.

Bulandr was also a Second Team All-CCIW pick in 2010, when he was a Second Team ESPN Academic All-District selection, and has been named to the Academic All-CCIW Team twice. He is a six-time Dean's List honoree at North Central and is a member of three national academic honor societies. 

His extensive list of community service efforts includes serving as a principal motivator and organizer for the North Central football program's adoption of a young cancer patient through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a three-time participant in Celebrity Reading Night at Wheatlands Elementary School in Aurora, and a volunteer with Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Feed My Starving Children, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Northwestern Mutual Good Deeds Day and the Northwestern Mutual Roots and Wings Walk.

Nominations for the award are made by the college president with supporting letters and credentials provided by the head football coach. After screening the nominations, the St. John's University (Minn.) J-Club Board of Directors narrows the field to 10 finalists including at least one finalist in each of the four NCAA regions. The 38-member Gagliardi Trophy national selection committee reviews the credentials, ranks the candidates 1-10 and casts their votes.

Starting in 2007, fans were given one collective vote on D3football.com. The student-athlete with the highest vote total is named the recipient. The deadline for voting is noon on Monday, Dec. 5.

The 2011 Gagliardi Trophy will be presented in Salem, Va., site of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, two evenings prior to the national championship game.

Men's basketball: The men's basketball team came within one possession of is first road victory of the season at Albion College on Thursday, but a three-pointer on the Britons' final possession condemned the Cardinals to a 61-60 loss at Kresge Gymnasium.

The loss spoiled the superb individual performances by North Central's CJ Goldthree and Aaron Tiknis, each of whom achieved season highs in scoring. Goldthree put up a game-high 22 points and led the Cardinals with five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes, and Tiknis put up 15 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble.

The Cardinals are 3-2.

Women's basketball: Despite a furious second half comeback Nov. 26, the  women's basketball team was unable to overcome its early-game struggles, falling 65-57 to Wartburg College in the opening round of the Holiday Inn Express Thanksgiving Classic inside Mitchell Hall.

The Cardinals (2-3) trailed by as many as 20 points midway through the second half before pulling within five on two separate occasions.

North Central roared out to an early 10-4 advantage nine minutes into the game with a Kelsey Cooling 3-pointer capping a 7-0 run. The Knights (4-0) would respond with a run of their own, scoring the next 15 points to take a nine-point lead with 4:32 remaining before taking a 30-17 lead into halftime, holding the Cardinals to 24.1 percent shooting (7 of 29) from the field.

Despite a furious second half comeback, the North Central College women's basketball team was unable to overcome its early-game struggles, falling 65-57 to Wartburg College in the opening round of the Holiday Inn Express Thanksgiving Classic inside Mitchell Hall.

The Cardinals (2-3) trailed by as many as 20-points midway through the second half before pulling within five points on two separate occasions.

North Central roared out to an early 10-4 advantage nine minutes into the game with a Kelsey Cooling three-pointer capping a 7-0 run. The Knights (4-0) would respond with a run of their own, scoring the next 15 points to take a nine-point lead with 4:32 remaining before taking a 30-17 lead into the halftime break, holding the Cardinals to shooting just 24.1 percent (seven-for-29) from the field.