Photo credit: Dr. Jeff Nelson

NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- It was a tale of two halves for the North Park Vikings Men's Basketball team as they lost their season opener to North Central College by a score of 69-49 on Saturday afternoon at Gregory Arena.

The Vikings got off to a hot start as five points from freshman Mike Osborne and a layup from Jordan Boyd got them out to a 7-2 lead. 

Adam Sundh caught fire later in the first half with four straight buckets to give North Park an 18-17 lead with 5:59 left to go before the break. 

Toby Marek beat the buzzer to send the Vikings into the locker room knotted 27-27 with North Central, who finished last year ranked #6 in the country. 

Halftime: North Park 27, North Central 27 

Blaise Meredith and the Cardinals caught fire in the second half shooting out to a 23-point lead and never looking back, winning by 20. Meredith led all scorers with 25 points. Sundh led the way for the Vikings with 12 points and three steals, while Boyd snagged seven boards.

Final: North Central 69, North Park 49 

Quick Hits: 

• Sundh with 12 points and three steals in his Vikings debut 
• Boyd started his North Park career with eight points, seven rebounds 
• The Vikings bench outscored the Cardinals bench 22-10 

What's Next? 

The Vikings (0-1, 0-1 CCIW) will play the Cardinals of North Central College again on Monday January 25th.  Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the NPU Gym.