Photo credit: Paige Wilcox
CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park University men's basketball team triumphed over Carthage College by a score of 78-68 on Saturday afternoon at the NPU Gymnasium. Jordan Boyd notched a double-double for the second straight game and Toby Marek scored 32 in the contest that gave North Park their first win on the year.
Carthage jumped out to an early 9-3 lead on the Vikings, but two buckets by Marek and a layup by Karl Polk, Jr. knotted the score up at nine apiece. Soon after, the Vikings took a 14-13 lead on a Marek three. North Park would retain the lead for the remainder of the half behind three more triples from Marek.
Halftime: North Park 39, Carthage 38
Carthage did not let up in the second half and found a way to grab a 51-49 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the game. Much of Carthage's scoring came from their star players Fillip Bulatovic and Sean Johnson who scored 21 and 16 points, respectively.
From that point forward, the Vikings went on a 29-17 run to close out the game with a plethora of North Park student-athletes getting in on the scoring, much of it from behind the arc.
Freshman Mike Osborne, Marek, and Boyd had seven each, during the run, while Polk, Jalen Boyd, and Izaiah Sanders all contributed to the scoring as well to close out the game. North Park went 6-of-9 from behind the arc during this stretch, including one step back three from Marek over the outstretched arms of the 6'11" Johnson to break Carthage hearts and put the game essentially out of reach.
Final: North Park 78, Carthage 68
POSTGAME INTERVIEW WITH COACH TOM SLYDER AND MAREK
Quick Hits
- Toby Marek came one short of a career high, scoring 32 points on 7-of-9 shooting from behind the arc.
- His seven 3-pointers made is a new career best
- He also added six assists and two steals
- Jalen Boyd was a force inside notching his second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 boards
- Karl Polk, Jr. collected 11 points in his first start of the season, to go along with six rebounds
What's Next?
The Vikings (1-3) will be home again early next week as they take on Wheaton College (3-0) at NPU Gymnasium on Tuesday, February 2nd. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
