Waukesha, Wis. – The North Park men's basketball team finished the 2021-22 season with a win Saturday evening, as they took down Carroll University by a score of 77-64. Four different Vikings reached double-figures as NPU avenged their loss to Pioneers earlier in the year.
Gabe Johnson scored the first bucket of the game, before Carroll quickly answered. The teams went back and forth like this, jockeying for position most of the first half as all 10 lead changes, and all four ties came in the initial frame. Late in the half, with NPU up one, Jalen Boyd hit a shot followed closely by an Anthony Diaz runner that gave the Vikings a five-point edge. However, Carroll would hit a three near the buzzer to axe the lead to only two as the teams split for halftime.
Halftime: North Park 35, Carroll 33
Tom Slyder pressed the team's turbo button in the locker room as the Vikings seem to leave Carroll in the dust right away in half number two. Karl Polk Jr. scored on a putback on the first possession, but the big highlight came three minutes later when Jordan Boyd threw down a slam on a picture-perfect pass from Johnson. Right after, Izaiah Sanders made two free throws, and Johnson hit a jumper to boost the NPU lead to eight. After a Carroll three, Sanders responded with his own triple to keep it at eight.
A layup and free throw by Johnson would inflate the lead to 11 before Jordan Boyd would again find the bottom of the net to make it 13. The shots just get falling for North Park, and with good defense, the lead was up to 23 by the time Diaz splashed home a bucket with 4:23 left. As Slyder rotated in most of the team, Carroll went on a last-ditch run, but NPU still held on for the comfortable 13-point win.
Final: North Park 77, Carroll 64
Quick Hits:
- Sanders gave it his all in his final game in an NPU jersey, coming one rebound short of a double-double: 10 points, nine rebounds.
- Sanders finished this season with a 61.2% shooting percentage from the field, replacing Michael Harper as the third best single season shooting percentage in team history. All while averaging 9.3 PPG.
- Jordan Boyd also nearly grabbed a double-double for himself with 14 points and nine rebounds.
- Michael Osborne led all scorers with 18 points.
- Johnson was the other Viking in double digits with 12 points.
What's Next?
The Vikings finish their season with an overall record of 10-14 and 5-11 in CCIW play, missing the conference tournament by just one game. They graduate five players but bring back a multitude of talent and will look forward to a promising 2022-23 campaign.
