MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — A combination of full court defensive pressure and a hot offense in the second half helped the Purdue North Central Panthers get their first conference win of the season. The Panthers forced 18 turnovers and connected on 10 baskets from the 3-point arc beating the Peregrines splitting the season series in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and closing out the regular season for both squads.

PUC had a six-point, 36-30, lead at the half, but PNC amped up its offense scoring 43 in the second 20 minutes of action. The Peregrines (3-25 overall, 3-9 CCAC) couldn’t get their offense rolling for most of the second half, including a 2-of-10 success rate from the 3-point stripe.

Sophomore Robert Williams (Gary West Side) led the Peregrines in scoring for the third time this season. Williams was 5-of-7 (71 percent) from the field, including a 3-pointer, and was perfect at the charity stripe 6-of-6 for 17 points in the contest, more than doubling his season average of 8.4 per game.

Antonio McNeal (Hammond Gavit) scored double figures for the tenth time in 15 games. The junior, who leads the Peregrines with a 13.1 per game average, scored 15 and added six rebounds.

Two seniors, Kevin Thomas (Highland) and Kris Krstevski (Lake Central), each scored eight points. Thomas grabbed six rebounds in the loss, while Krstevski had three of the team’s six steals.