LEXINGTON, KY - Coming off a big win against a good Lake Forest team, the North Park University Men's Basketball team looked to build on their recent performance against the Guilford College Quakers.

The NPU offense accomplished their season-long strategy of looking for the open three early on in the first half as Billy Kirby and Colin Lake both dropped in a pair of three-pointers to tie up the game at six. Following a tip-in by Guilford's Kyler Gregory, Colin Lake drained another three-pointer in the next possession and sparked a bit of a scoring run for the Vikings.

Counteracting the plan of their opponent, the Quakers utilized the paint for a barrage of layups. Adding one more three-pointer to capture the lead, the Vikings saw themselves trailing by eight points with only two minutes of play remaining in the first half. A Billy Kirby tip-in brought the Vikings within six, but that capped off the scoring as they trailed the North Carolina foe 22-28.

The tides sharply changed in North Park's favor to start the second half. Billy Kirby, Matt Szuba, and Colin Lake all caught fire as the Quakers saw an eight point lead nullified to a tie game. The trio teamed up for a 10-2 run and North Park's offense began to settle in.

After briefly giving the up the lead, Billy Kirby, Matt Szuba, Colin Lake and Toby Marek all cashed in with shots from beyond the arc. Freshman Matt Szuba led the charge in the second half of the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, a blocked shot, and an assist. He was 4-6 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.

This offensive dominance powered the Vikings to 66-56 win over the Guilford College Quakers and improved their overall record to 3-6 on the season. The men have less than 24 hours to catch their breath as they return to action tomorrow at 3 PM against Emory & Henry College.

KEYS TO THE GAME 

• Freshman Matt Szuba had 16 points in the second half, sealing the win for North Park
• Week 5's CCIW Player of the Week Colin Lake continued his scoring streak, adding 20 in the contest
• Junior Billy Kirby had a game-leading 22 points and was 4-5 from beyond the arc
• Freshman Matt Mohr swatted 5 Quaker shots and spear-headed the Viking defense