Pictures: Angelina Azzo
CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park faced off with Augustana in a battle of the Vikings this Saturday evening, winning by a score of 70-5 on the back of Kolden Vanlandingham's 30-point outburst. With the win, the Vikings sit alone at the top of the CCIW for the time being with a 3-0 conference record, making them 7-1 to date for the 2022-2023 season.
The first half was a back-and-forth defensive battle in which both sides shoot below 35%. The half ultimately wound in a 27-26 stalemate that North Park narrowly controlled. The two Vikings squads each relied on standout individual performances to propel their offenses. Augustana's Dan Carr went 5-6 from the FT line on his way to 9 first half points, and more notably he corralled a monstrous 13 rebounds through the opening frame. For North Park, it was Kolden Vanlandingham shouldering the offensive load. He accounted for over half of the Vikings' first-half points with 14, maintaining shooting splits of 50/40/100.
Vanlandingham continued his scorching hot start, scoring each of the Vikings' first 11 points of the second half. He would go on to finish with 30 of North Park's 70 points. The rest of the Vikings offense experienced a second half uptick to supplement Vanlandingham's production, improving their overall field goal percentage to 40.9% on the night after the cold start. Meanwhile, North Park's defensive intensity carried right on over from the 1st half. Sean Smith's Vikings matched their first half marks with 7 steals and 12 forced turnovers, totaling 14 steals and 24 turnovers forced on the night. The corresponding turnover margin ended at +14 for North Park, playing a major role in the victory.
Vanlandingham led all scorers with 30 points on 10-21 shooting, including 3 made three-pointers and a perfect 7-7 mark from the FT line. For Augustana, the aforementioned Dan Carr led his side with 25 and a game-high 17 rebounds. Jordan Boyd and Shamar Pumphrey were the only other Vikings in double figures, but their contributions elsewhere were even more notable. Boyd led North Park in rebounds, blocks, and steals with 6, 3, and 4 in those respective categories. Pumphrey matched Boyd with 4 steals of his own while sharing the team lead in assists with 5 alongside Marquise Jackson.
What's Next?
The Vikings have a quick turnaround on their hands as they travel to Wisconsin to take on Division I opponent UW-Milwaukee tomorrow, Dec. 11. The exhibition game will tip off at 2:00 PM CST.
