NAPERVILLE, Ill. --

The North Park men's basketball team upset the 20th-ranked, previously unbeaten North Central Cardinals, 95-88, at the Gregory Arena on Saturday night.

North Park's leading scorer, junior forward Vegard Tangen, opened up the scoring for the Vikings as he buried a three-pointer to mark the first Viking lead of the game at 3-2.

The North Park offense kept their distance from the Cardinals, as Tangen led the way with 10 of their first 12 points to hold a 12-9 lead.

North Central would grab a 15-12 lead after a tip-in, layup, and jumper all from Cardinal sophomore guard Blaise Meredith. 

The Vikings were able to respond on jumpers from sophomore guard Toby Marek and senior guard Cardell Simmons, followed by a layup from Simmons to briefly capture an 18-17 lead with 9 minutes left to go in the first half. 

Going into halftime, North Park ended the first half on a high note, capturing a 33-32 lead on a last-second jumper by Marek.

The Viking offense utilized 4 three-pointers while shooting 14-27 (51.9%) from the field.

Tangen was the lead scorer for North Park's offense at halftime, totaling 10 points and a pair of threes.

In second half action, neither the Cardinals nor the Vikings could hang on to more than a three-point lead.

Freshman guard Kindrel Morris tallied a layup to give the Vikings a 67-64 lead. North Central's Connor Raridon negated the NPU attack with a layup of his own, but Toby Marek buried a three to give the Vikings their largest lead of the second half at 70-66.

North Central would chip away once more with five minutes left in the game. A pair of free throws by Meredith and a layup by Raridon put the Cardinals within striking distance at 73-72 in favor of the Vikings.

However, the NPU offense would stand strong, outscoring the Cardinals 22 to 16, earning the win 95-88.

This win marks the second in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action for the North Park men's basketball team, as well as their second win against opponents ranked in the nation's top 25 (#20 North Central and #18 Wheaton).

Quick Hits:

• Toby Marek utilized a red-hot second half to total 29 points, marking 22 in the second half
• Kindrel Morris and Vegard Tangen added 15 and 14, respectively
• Matt Szuba swatted a pair of Cardinals shots while adding 9 rebounds
• The Vikings shot 29-49 (59.2%) from the field and 15-22 (68.18%) in the second half
• Marek was 12-14 from the free throw line while Morris was 9-12, accounting for a majority of NPU's incredible 29-34 total
• #20 North Central was 6-0 entering tonight's contest

What's Next?

North Park (3-7, 2-1 CCIW) returns to action on Saturday, December 15 when they travel to face the Elmhurst College Bluejays.