CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Vikings men's basketball team welcomed the nationally ranked Wheaton Thunder to Chicago on Wednesday evening, emerging with a 66-63 victory to earn their 4th straight win. North Park and Wheaton now sit tied atop the CCIW with a 8-2 conference record, holding a two-game lead over 3rd place Carthage.
North Park started tonight's contest in an offensive drought, scoring just one basket through the game's opening seven minutes. The Vikings' defense picked up the slack though with their full-court press, which posed problems for the Thunder backcourt and helped the Vikings hold Wheaton to just 9 points over the same frame. Despite the cold spell, North Park's offense was creating quality looks, and the score soon began to represent that. The Vikings went on to score 34 points over the remainder of the half, including one of the more athletic alley-oops you'll see from Shamar Pumphrey to Marquise Jackson, carrying a 36-29 lead into the break.
To start the second half, North Park extended their lead to 8 briefly before Wheaton went on a 12-2 run to overtake control at a score of 39-41. The two sides proceeded to trade baskets over the oncoming minutes, with neither establishing a firm lead until a fastbreak three-pointer by Jalen Boyd brought the score to 60-55 in favor of the Vikings. That lead wavered down the stretch on multiple occasions, but it never changed hands. The Vikings' defense came up with stop after stop, with Boyd again coming through clutch for his side with a defensive rebound to ice the game.
NPU was led in scoring by Marquise Jackson whose 25 points represented a game-high. He also collected 4 steals, though that was not enough for the team-lead thanks to Quillin Dixon's mark of 5. As a unit, North Park mustered 19 steals compared to just 2 from Wheaton. That disparity allowed the Vikings to win the turnover margin by an astonishing +14. Those 19 steals also established a new single-season record, as the Vikings now sit at 240 on the season, breaking the previous mark from the 1995-96 season of 223.
What's Next?
North Park takes the court next against Carroll, who played the Vikings within one score in their last matchup. Tip-off is slated for 4:15 P.M. with the Pioneers set to host the contest up north in Waukesha.
