PICTURED: Juwan Henry
North Park left nothing to chance in picking up its second-straight victory over Wheaton College this season – a 74-61 triumph – at King Arena in Wheaton Wednesday night.
The Vikings nearly led wire-to-wire as they built as much as a 15-point lead late in the second half behind 25 points from junior Juwan Henry.
North Park's transition game shined as the Vikings scored 13 points off the fast break while forcing 16 Wheaton turnovers and scoring 20 points off the mistakes. A strong inside game produced more than half of North Park's offense as well as the visitors scored 44 points in the paint while garnering a 26-24 defensive rebounding edge.
Four different Vikings finished in double-figure scoring. Along with Henry's 25, Jordan Robinson went for his fifth double-double this season of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Michael Hutchinson added 11 points and seven boards, while T.J. Cobbs tallied 10 points along with two steals and two assists.
NP wasted little time seizing momentum as the Vikings staked a 12-5 lead on a rebounded basket from Hutchinson. After moving ahead 28-17 after two Hutchinson free throws, Wheaton managed to fight its way back to a five-point halftime deficit with a 10-5 spurt to close out the remaining 3:55 of the period, but the Vikings regrouped early in the second half and built their lead back to 45-31 after a Henry lay-up in transition.
Henry scored 16 of his game-high 25 in the second half on 7 of 9 shooting. He also dished five total assists. Both Jonathan Berntsen and Trae Masten scored 13 points each for Wheaton.
North Park (14-7, 6-4) returns to action Saturday night when it hosts Millikin University for a 7 p.m. contest.