JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- All four teams participating in this year's Bill Merris Tournament hosted by Illinois College were participants in last year's Division III college playoff, meaning the competition was going to be stiff for the Vikings this weekend. In their second game against the Coe College Kohawks, North Park's Men's Basketball Team lost 86-66 in a very tightly-officiated game, in which both teams got into the bonus early in each half.
Coe got out to a fast 10-0 start in the beginning of the game, showing poise against the pressure of the Vikings. This was a deficit that the Vikings were never able to overcome, as Coe really found their groove early. Despite cutting the lead down to one point late in the first half, the Kohawks went on a mini run to close out the first half 43-35. The Vikings were able to stay around in the first half with their high-volume offensive rebounding, allowing for second chance points.
Coe led the way in fastbreak points, bench points, and free throw percentage - North Park shot 68% from the free throw line to Coe's 82%.
The Vikings got within seven points of Coe early in the second half but, again, couldn't slow the Kohawk fast break or find an answer for their high three-point shooting percentage at 42%. Overall, North Park shot only 34% in the afternoon, going 20-for-59.
Though he found himself in foul trouble early, junior guard Kolden Vanlandingham led the Vikings in scoring with 14 points. Senior guard Shamar Pumphrey, playing 31 minutes today, had a solid day adding 12 points and 4 assists. Senior Quillin Dixon and junior Kyren Gardner both pitched in 11 points. An area where Coe took an unsung advantage was in the assist portion, beating the Vikings 14 to 6 thanks to quality, controlled passes around the perimeter. The Kohawks had five players with double-digit scoring efforts, led by 19 from TJ Schnurr and 16 from Cael Schmitt.
Top NPU Performers
Kolden Vanlandingham – 14 PTS
Shamar Pumphrey – 12 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST
Kyren Gardner – 11 PTs
Quillin Dixon – 11 PTS
What's Next?
North Park (2-2) travels up to No. 25 ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, November 25. This will be their second game against a ranked opponent and last non-conference game for a while, as they will have a string of four-straight conference games following. The season is still young for the talented Vikings squad, and they look to bounce back next week in Oshkosh.
