FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- Marquise Jackson erupted for 40 points in Tuesday's 85-64 victory over the Marian Sabres, shooting a scalding 18-for-25 from the floor and leading the Vikings to their third win. His lights-out performance marks the first 40-point effort by a Viking since Colin Lake dropped 46 on Illinois Wesleyan on Jan. 13, 2018, as well as the ninth-highest point total in North Park history for the men's team.
Jackson opened up the scoring for North Park with a layup, assisted by Jaylen Boyd, and he would go on to score 8 of the team's first 10 points. The Vikings held control of that early lead for the game's remainder. Despite that, the 1st half stayed a tightly contested battle. North Park shot it well to the tune of 53% from the field with 4-6 shooting from three, while the Sabres kept pace with a strong 55% performance of their own.
The Vikings began the 2nd half with a 43-37 lead, a lead that Marian was able to cut in half after eight minutes of play. With the score now at 55-52, it was Jackson again who opened the floodgates for North Park. Marian would have no answer this time as the Vikings proceeded to go on a colossal 30-12 run to close out the game. North Park's stifling 2nd half defense proved to be the difference maker, holding the Sabres to 8-27 from the field after Marian made 15 baskets on the same number of tries in the 1st half.
Alongside his 40-point day, Jackson led the Vikings with 5 assists to help create 53 total points of offense. Kolden Vanlandingham was the recipient of a few of those dimes, scoring 18 points while shooting 5-6 from deep and registering 3 steals. Jalen Boyd and Karl Polk paced the Vikings with 8 rebounds each, with the team as a whole grabbing 40 to the Sabres' 29.
What's Next?
Now sitting at 3-1, the Vikings have a few days off before taking on Loras this Saturday, November 26. The Duhawks are set to host in Dubuque, IA with game time marked for 4:00 P.M.
