CHICAGO, Ill. -- After a long stretch of away games, the North Park University men's basketball team returned to the North Park Gym to upset College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Wheaton College, 68-65, on Saturday night.

The Vikings opened up their first minutes of CCIW action with a chip on their shoulder, shutting out the 18th-ranked Thunder while marking six points of their own. Four of these six points came from sophomore guard Toby Marek, who was only beginning to heat up.

Wheaton would wake up midway through the first half, capturing a 23-13 lead. However, the Viking offense had only momentarily cooled off.

In the Vikings' next possession, junior forward Vegard Tangen and Marek would both mark layups to cut the Wheaton lead to six. Next, following an Aston Francis three, sophomore forward Matt Szuba tallied his own layup and followed it up with a made free throw in the next NPU possession.

After two minutes of scoreless basketball, Tangen and senior guard Cardell Simmons would sink three-pointers to nullify the Thunder lead at 26-26. 

This score would hold true moving to halftime, as North Park and Wheaton remained tied after 20 minutes of play. 

The North Park defense secured the perimeter, not allowing Wheaton to sink any three-pointers in the first half, while marking a pair of their own from Simmons and Tangen. Tangen led the offense at the half, totaling nine points while Szuba pulled down nine rebounds.

Halftime: Tied at 26

In the second half of play, the Vikings and Thunder would trade layups before Wheaton's Francis buried a three-pointer to grab a 31-29 lead.

North Park would respond with a three-pointer from freshman guard Kindrel Morris and a layup by Marek to secure their own lead at 36-33.

Aston Francis would erupt for seven of Wheaton's next nine points but would get called for a technical foul during a timeout to send Marek to the line. Marek cashed in on the pair of free shots to bring the Vikings within striking distance at 42-38.

Moving to the final minutes of the game, it was North Park that held a four point lead at 64-60. In their next possession, Wheaton's Kobe Eichelberger drove the lane, looking for an easy two points. However, Szuba would swat the would-be layup away while gaining possession with less than a minute to play.

After the in-bound pass, Wheaton would send the red-hot hand of Toby Marek to the line, who completed both shots and extended the North Park lead to 66-60. However, Wheaton's Aston Francis sent in his fifth three-pointer to force a one-possession game.

Once more, the Thunder would foul Marek to repeat a familiar story - a perfect trip to the free-throw line.

Forcing a missed three-pointer at the end of the game, the Vikings would upset the Thunder, 68-65, in their first CCIW contest of the season.

FINAL: North Park 68, Wheaton 65

Quick Hits:

• Toby Marek finished with a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe
• Vegard Tangen and Cardell Simmons added 12 points each
• Matt Szuba pulled down double-digit rebounds for the fourth time this season, totaling 12
• Szuba also added six assists and a staggering four blocks

What's Next? 

The Vikings (2-6, 1-0 CCIW) will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Wednesday, December 5 to take on Carthage College. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.