Photos courtesy of Dr. Jeff Nelson, North Park University

CHICAGO, IL - Squaring off against one of the hottest teams in the CCIW, the North Park University Men's Basketball team hosted the top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Saturday night.

Starting off the game with a bang, both teams traded shots in the opening minutes of the first half. A Billy Kirby three followed soon after by a Colin Lake layup knotted the score at 5 all.

After the Titans briefly stretched their lead to 7 points, Matt Szuba knocked down a clutch three and Colin Lake completed a perfect trip to the charity stripe to narrow the score to 12-14.

Despite the response, the Titans went on a run of their own to secure a double-digit lead going into the half.

Colin Lake dominated from the floor in the first half, going 6-12 from the field with 4 threes, and 18 total points. He also swiped two passes and was a perfect 2-2 from the free throw line.

As impressive as Lake's first half was, he was just getting warmed up.

A well-rounded attack from the Illinois Wesleyan Titans demanded someone step up for the Vikings in order to keep the game within grasp. The Titans slowly climbed their way up to a 12 point lead but were met with a red-hot Colin Lake. After an and-one layup by Billy Kirby, Lake found the bottom of the net on 18 of North Park's next 21 points. This stretch included a clutch three-pointer with under ten seconds on the clock, followed by a perfect trip to the charity stripe to bring the Vikings within one.

Rebounding a missed free throw, Matt Szuba found Lake for one final heave of the game. Lake's baseball-style throw from nearly a full court's length away missed just inches left of the rim, glancing off the left side of the backboard. 

As close as they came to putting a dent in the Titans' armor, the North Park Men's Basketball team (1-5, 4-10) fell 75-76.

STANDOUT PLAYERS

• Colin Lake put on an offensive clinic in tonight's game. Totaling 46 points in the game, Lake was 15-24 from the field, 9-12 beyond the arc, and was nearly perfect from the charity stripe at 7-8. Lake also swiped two passes in the contest. His 46 points are the most a Viking has scored in regulation since Jack Ecker marked 54 in 1995. (Juwan Henry had 47 in an overtime victory against Carthage College on January 27th, 2016)
• Billy Kirby had the second highest scoring total for the Vikings with 15 points and 3 assists.
• In his first start of the season, Jason Hines pulled down 5 rebounds and totaled 7 points with a three-pointer 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Vikings will travel to Waukesha, Wisconsin to take on Carroll University Wednesday night. Carroll is currently sitting in last place of the CCIW standings with an 0-6 record and 4-11 overall. The Pioneers recently lost a close 62-66 game to Augustana College. Their leading scorer is senior Tanner Zaeske, who has 154 points on the season.