NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- No. 9 ranked North Central College relied on 15 three-point shots and a strong defensive effort to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 77-54 in men's college basketball action on Monday night.

North Central held the Fightin' Engineers to 42% from the field and Will Clausel led the Cardinals offense with 19 points.  The balanced North Central attack also featured Matt Cappelletti in double figures with 11 points.

Eli Combs paced the Rose-Hulman offense with nine points.  Zach Callahan and Terry Hicks scored eight points each, and John Czarnecki scored six points for the Fightin' Engineers.  

Rose-Hulman led 9-6 early in the contest on a three-pointer by Michael Lake.  North Central answered with a 10-2 run, before a Combs three-pointer closed the Engineers within 16-14 midway through the first half.

North Central answered with a 15-4 run to take a 31-18 lead and maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way.  The Cardinals improved to 2-1 on the season, while Rose-Hulman dropped to 2-3.

The Fightin' Engineers return to action on the road this Sunday at Albion College.