CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park men's basketball team pulled off a stunning upset over the No. 7 ranked Elmhurst Bluejays on Saturday night, erasing a halftime deficit of 11 to win by a score of 69-67.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with the Bluejays up 17-13 with about 13 minutes to go before the break. It was then that a Jonathan Johansson three sparked an 11-0 run for the Vikings to take a 24-17 lead. Jordan Boyd had six of those points, while Izaiah Sanders added a pair himself. Elmhurst responded with a run of their own and went into the locker room up 11.
Halftime: Elmhurst 43, North Park 32
The Vikings were down, but far from out. NPU stormed back with a vengeance, scoring the first 10 points of the second half so it was a Gabe Johnson layup that made it a 43-42 game. The Elmhurst offense clicked back in to win the race to 50, but North Park wasn't behind when an and-one from Jalen Boyd equalized the game at 50 even.
With less than five minutes left, neither team had found separation and the squads were again dead even, this time at 60. Three straight NPU baskets were answered with Bluejay baskets of their own and the score settled at 66.
Each team got chances to take the lead, but it wasn't until Michael Osborne was able to get a miraculous layup to fall with 20 seconds left to put North Park up two.
A miss from Elmhurst's Jake Rhode had Jalen Boyd going to the line and making one-of-two. The Vikings fouled Rhode who made only one of his free throws, only for Adam Bulwa to pull down a commanding rebound to get himself to the line, shooting two with 0.6 seconds left. Both were missed, but Osborne tipped out the potential rebound so the Bluejays weren't able to get a potential game-winning shot off.
Final: North Park 69, Elmhurst 67
Quick Hits:
- Jalen Boyd led the Viking offense with 17 points, while Osborne, Sanders, and Jordan Boyd also reach double figures.
- Jordan Boyd also had 12 boards to go with his 10 points to have a double-double.
- Osborne had five offensive rebounds.
- This is the first time the Vikings have beaten Elmhurst since January of 2017.
What's Next?
North Park (5-2, 2-0 CCIW) will be on the road versus CCIW foe Augustana (4-4, 0-1 CCIW) on Sunday, December 19th. Tipoff will be at 5 PM in Rock Island.
