North Park fought back from a pair of double-digit deficits, one in each half, but ultimately dropped their second game this week in an 81-77 loss to Illinois Tech (12-5) on the home floor of the Scarlet Hawks Saturday.
The Vikings trailed early at 20-18 with 8:27 remaining in the first half when the Scarlet Hawks caught fire and went on a 14-point run to take a 16-point lead with four minutes to go before halftime. It marked the largest deficit NP has faced this season. However, the Vikes managed to re-gather and chipped away at the lead until the intermission, at which point they trailed, 39-30. NP then caught fire at the outset of the second half, roaring back to take the lead at 51-47 on a Juwan Henry 15-footer.
Things quickly went south again however. After NP tied it at 51-51, IIT responded with a quick six-point swing, which included an intentional foul call off a Scarlet Hawks' fast break. Anthony Mosley, who was fouled on the play, converted both free throws as part of the run with 13:30 remaining.
IIT used that as a springboard to build the lead back up to double digits at 65-55. Again, Park fought back, forging a 73-73 tie with 2:23 left on another Henry midrange jumper. But even though the Hawks would not score another field goal, they went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line from that point onward. Meanwhile, the Vikings went cold at the wrong time unfortunately, converting on only 1 of 5 field goals in the final 33 seconds.
The Scarlet Hawks were solid at the free-throw line, where they went a sparkling 21-24 (88%). They shot 44% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc as a team in the win. The Vikings were outrebounded, 41-39, although they did manage to secure a three-carom edge on the offensive glass (15-12).
Juwan Henry led North Park with 21 points, and he also had nine rebounds. Jordan Robinson collected his ninth double-double of the season and his second-straight with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Colin Lake contributed 14 points, while T.J. Cobbs had 13 points (including a career-high three treys) and Billy Kirby chipped in 10 points. Sam Rarick led the Scarlet Hawks with 23 points, while Malike Howze added 22 and Anthony Mosley, Jr. scored a dozen.
The Vikings, who are all alone in second place in the conference standings at the halfway point of the CCIW slate, one game behind Augustana, return to CCIW action on Wednesday as they host Illinois Wesleyan in a key showdown at 7 p.m.
