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North Park University Athletics

Ellis1Elm2018
76
Winner Saint Mary's (MN) SMU 6-4
67
North Park NPU 4-9
Winner
Saint Mary's (MN) SMU
6-4
76
Final
67
North Park NPU
4-9
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Mary's (MN) SMU 42 34 76
North Park NPU 26 41 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Contact: Tyler Woolbright, Sports Information Director, tawoolbright@northpark.edu

Saint Mary's Outlasts North Park on Saturday

CHICAGO, Ill. -- After a long stretch of games away from the North Park Gym, the North Park University men's basketball team returned home on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Saint Mary's University Cardinals 67-76.

Through 8 minutes of the first half, the Vikings kept up with the hot-shooting Cardinals, as Saint Mary's led 14-11.

The Cardinals would go on to mark 3-pointers from Caden Freetly (2), Kevin Gleason, Brady Stevens, Bradley Hill, and Sawyer Rosner to capture a comfortable 42-26 lead going into halftime.

In the first half, Saint Mary's shot 10-15 beyond the arc (66.7%) while also shooting 16-24 (66.7%) from the field. 

North Park's offense would respond in the second half. Following a perfect trip to the line from freshman guard Izaiah Sanders, junior forward Vegard Tangen split the gap for a layup. Next, freshman guard Kindrel Morris marked three consecutive layups and junior guard Cardell Simmons added a jumper in the paint. 

Cutting the deficit to single digits, sophomore forward Matt Szuba buried a three to make the score 50-41 in favor of Saint Mary's.

The Cardinals stole the next 5 points, but sophomore guard Jake Ellis knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Vikings within 8. 8:41 remained in the second half as North Park looked to further chip away at Saint Mary's lead.

Unfortunately, despite a 7-0 run in the late minutes of the game, the Cardinals would hang on to earn a 76-67 win.


Quick Hits:

  • Matt Szuba totaled a team-leading 17 points (5 threes), adding 7 rebounds
  • Jake Ellis came off the bench to add 16 points (5 threes) 
  • Toby Marek also marked double-digits with 12 points


What's Next?

The Vikings (4-9, 2-2 CCIW) return to conference action next Wednesday, January 2 at 7:00 PM CST when they host the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans.


Follow the Vikings on Twitter (@VikingsNPU), Facebook (North Park University Athletics), and Instagram (@npuathletics), as well as the newest release of "Around the Horn" to keep up on all events, matches, and announcements for North Park University athletics


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