Photo courtesy of Dr. Jeff Nelson; North Park University

DECATUR, IL - The North Park University men's basketball team continued their CCIW schedule Wednesday night, traveling to play at Millikin University.

Starting off their first few minutes in flawless fashion, the Vikings took a quick 9-3 lead. Colin Lake had 6 points from a pair of layups and a perfect trip to the line. Matt Szuba added the exclamation point with a three-pointer.

Millikin weathered the storm in the next few minutes, outscoring North Park 10-2 and capturing their first lead of the game.

Colin Lake answered the bell with two more lead changing three-pointers in back-to-back possessions.

With the score now 17-16, the Vikings needed to disrupt the Big Blue rhythm.

Unfortunately, despite 17 first-half points by NPU's leading scorer, Colin Lake, the Vikings were not able to stifle the red-hot hands of the Big Blue.

Millikin shot an astounding 66.7% from the field (16-24) in the first half, including 4 three-pointers.

North Park 33, Millikin 40.

The Vikings eliminated their 7 point deficit 90 seconds into the first half. Matt Szuba knocked down a three-pointer in North Park's first possession and Vergard Tangen added his own three a minute later. The Vikings now trailed by just one point.

Unfortunately, the Big Blue came back to life and outscored the Vikings 40-30 in the second half. Matt Szuba was 3-5 from the field and led the Vikings with 9 points in the second half of play. 

However, Millikin nearly matched their first-half performance, shooting 64% (16-25) from the field. 

Final Score: North Park 63, Millikin 80.

Standout Performances

Colin Lake led the Vikings offense with 22 points. He was 3-8 beyond the arc, tied a season-best 6 rebounds, and swiped 2 passes.

Matt Szuba followed closely behind Lake. Shooting 60% (6-10) from the field, he marked a season second-best 17 points with 4 assists.

What's Next?

The Vikings (4-15, 1-10) will travel to Naperville, Illinois this upcoming Saturday to face North Central College. The Cardinals are currently 15-5 on the year and 8-3 in CCIW action. Most recently, the Cardinals beat Carthage by a score of 79-75.