Photo credit: Paige Wilcox
Chicago, Ill. – A ferocious North Park men's basketball team used all 40 minutes on Saturday to propel themselves to an amazing 76-74 victory over No. 2 ranked Illinois Wesleyan. With less than five seconds to go, Mike Osborne rebounded his own miss in the corner and splashed in the game winner to cement the upset over the Titans.
Throughout the game, any small run by either side was quickly answered by a run from the opposition, keeping it close from start to finish. The Titans came out strong to start, but Izaiah Sanders kept on slipping through the solid Wesleyan defense to find himself a hot offensive start. In the first half, Sanders was 6-8 from the field, including one three-pointer, for a total of 13 points. Junior big man Jordan Boyd pounded the ball on the inside early, scoring 11 points in the first half alone. Down 34-33 late in the first half, Osborne knocked down two free throws to float the Vikings to the lead, but right after Illinois Wesleyan hit two of their own to end the half up by one point.
Halftime: Illinois Wesleyan 36, North Park 35
The second half was a slugfest between two teams that would refuse to let the game get away from them. The score was knotted at 45 before two quick three-pointers from the Titans put them up 51-45. Senior Lawrence Pointer responded with a three of his own to bring the Vikings within a possession with less than 13 minutes to go. The Vikings again found themselves down six, but two buckets from Jalen Boyd, and a layup from Karl Polk Jr. had the score back even at 62-62.
With less than three minutes remaining, Toby Marek hit a three to spring the Vikings to a 74-71 lead. Both sides missed some key free throws in the minutes that followed, and it was not until an Illinois Wesleyan three with 1:14 left that the game was again even, this time at 74 each. After North Park missed a shot, Osborne stole the ball on the ensuing Titan possession to give NPU the ball with 33.8 seconds remaining.
It was Toby Marek that got the ball, and, with under 10 seconds left, the senior drew a double-team from the Titan defense. Looking across the court, Marek found Osborne wide open, and after missing his first attempt off the front of the rim, Osborne collected his own rebound, and nailed the game-winning shot from the corner to break Wesleyan hearts.
This is the highest-ranked opponent that Head Coach Tom Slyder has ever defeated, and, on a day that NPU was able to honor seniors Marek, Sanders, Pointer, Simon Jacobsen, and Aquil Spates, this win will go down as one of the biggest wins in North Park's recent history.
Quick Hits:
- Senior guard Izaiah Sanders led the Vikings in scoring with 16 points, he added six rebounds as well.
- Toby Marek popped in five three pointers for 15 points in his regular season home finale. He also had three assists.
- Two other Vikings finished in double figures, Jordan Boyd with 14 and Mike Osborne with 12. Osborne grabbed seven rebounds and two steals, while Boyd had two crucial blocks.
- North Park shot 48% from the field and 67% from behind the arc.
What's Next?
North Park (3-10) will host Millikin (1-10) in the CCIW tournament play-in game on Thursday, March 4th. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at NPU Gymnasium.
