CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park men's basketball survived a late scare against Earlham College Wednesday night, defeating the Quakers by a score of 66-63 at NPU Gymnasium. Jordan Boyd led the scoring for NPU with 16 points.
The Vikings led from the start and never relinquished their lead once throughout the contest, and after the opening tip, the game was only tied twice, at 2-2 and at 4-4. After Izaiah Sanders and Jordan Boyd each knocked in a free throw to make it 6-4, North Park would continue a heavy run to take a commanding lead. A layup by Sanders and threes from Gabe Johnson and Jonathan Johansson made it 14-4 in a hurry. Jalen Boyd and Adam Bulwa each added layups to balloon the lead to 14. A jumper by Michael Osborne with 6:54 left in the first half gave the NPU their biggest lead of the ballgame at 16.
The Quakers were able to whittle the Viking lead down to nine with 2:54 left in the frame, but again a Jalen Boyd layup and a bucket from Sanders looked to give the hosts a double-digit lead going into the break. Earlham would not go down easy, and they were able to find two baskets in the final 39 seconds of the half to make it only a nine-point differential going into the locker room.
Halftime: North Park 33, Earlham 24
Again, the Quakers would not go away easy, but a Sanders layup six minutes into the half did boost the Viking lead back to 11. That would be their final double-digit lead of the contest. Earlham came storming back to cut the NPU lead to just one point with 1:17 to go after some clutch shooting and good defense got them back into it.
On the ensuing possession Osborne took the ball up the floor, dribbling around a screen from Jordan Boyd and passing a perfect ball into a ready Bulwa who was able to lay it in for a three-point lead. When the Quakers got the ball back, it was a key charge taken by Jordan Boyd that won possession back for the Vikings, in which they were able to draw a foul to get to the free throw line. The front end of a one-and-one was missed, however, and an Earlham layup with 20 seconds to go made it a one-point game again.
Osborne made one free throw from line but missed the second to keep it a two-point game. He would quickly make up for it though, drawing another charge against the Quakers to win possession back for NPU. Two missed free throws almost spelled doom for North Park but it was again Osborne the hero coming up with a perfect pickpocket steal to seal the game. He made one of his two free throws, and a mishandled rebound by the Quakers made it all-she-wrote from NPU Gymnasium.
Final: North Park 66, Earlham 63
Quick Hits:
- Jordan Boyd with 16 points, five rebounds, one block, and one steal.
- Sanders chipped in 14 with four boards and two assists.
- Jalen Boyd was the other double-figure scorer for the Vikings with 11 points and six rebounds.
- Johnson had two threes and six rebounds for NPU.
- Osborne led both teams with six assists, to go along with six points.
- Justen Kidd scored his first points as a Viking with a jumper in the second half.
What's Next?
The Vikings (3-2) have an exhibition against Eastern Illinois on Saturday, December 4th, before starting conference play at Carthage on Wednesday, December 8th.
