PICTURED: Colin Lake

CHICAGO, IL - The North Park University Vikings Men's Basketball team started their first game of the season at home, squaring off against non-conference opponent Blackburn College. 

The Vikings came out of the gate ready to go as they jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first five minutes of play. Senior Colin Lake led the early charge for the Vikings, pulling down three rebounds, combining for nine points (five free throws), and had a pair of steals. Freshman Matt Szuba showed off his defensive prowess in the first half, utilizing 6 rebounds to stoke North Park's quick transition.

The Beavers were able to break their scoreless streak five and a half minutes into play with a jump shot from Karson Hayes. This began a short lull for the North Park offense as Blackburn narrowed the lead to seven. When it seemed that the game was beginning to level out, freshman Toby Marek marked his first 6 points with the Vikings via back-to-back three-pointers, giving North Park a 22-11 lead. Six more made free throws from a combination of Colin Lake and Billy Kirby pushed North Park's lead to 15.

Heading into the half, the Vikings had a commanding 40-27 lead and looked to be in cruise control. 

The Blackburn Beavers seemed to have a higher sense of urgency to begin the second half. Only two minutes in, Blackburn marked two quick fastbreak layups, alongside two free throws to close the North Park lead to seven. 

North Park responded with a Billy Kirby layup, a steal by Scott Olsen and another layup by Kirby as the Vikings bounced back to a 53-45 lead.

Unfortunately, the Blackburn offense started chipping away again, scoring nine unanswered points. Four lead changes and a Toby Marek layup tied the game at 59. However, Blackburn's Duncan King knocked down two free throws late in the game to seal the win, 61-59.

North Park (0-1) returns to action tomorrow night at 7 PM where they will square off against Illinois Institute of Technology to complete their hosting responsibilities for the weekend.