CHICAGO, Ill. -- Despite out-rebounding their Division I foes, the North Park University men's basketball team was unable to sustain a late rally and ended up falling short, 74-63, to DePaul University in a preseason exhibition game played in front of 2,573 fans at Wintrust Arena in Chicago's South Loop.
The Vikings struggled from the field, shooting only a bit over 40% (27-67) from the field for the evening and 25% (6-24) from beyond the arc. They did take 22 more field goal attempts than did the Blue Demons, in large part due to a 33-32 rebounding edge for North Park that included a 13-5 bulge on the offensive glass. But the bigger and highly athletic team from the Big East Conference was able to impose its will upon the Vikings with a lot of one-on-one play that forced the Vikings to foul early and often, allowing DePaul to enjoy 23 more free-throw attempts (and 18 more made free throws) than did NPU. That proved to be the defining statistic in the DePaul win.
The Blue Demons led from wire to wire, although strong defense from the Vikings kept it close in the early stages; halfway through the initial half DePaul only held a 12-10 lead. But an eight-point run by the Blue Demons gave them a cushion that they would maintain for the rest of the half, until the very end when Phil Holmes flushed a dunk with 1:01 remaining and Shamar Pumphrey grabbed a defensive rebound on the ensuing DePaul possession, dribbled down the clock for the last shot, and hit a floater with three seconds left to send NPU into the locker room down only 31-26.
The Vikings got as close as three points in the early minutes of the second half before DePaul pushed the lead back out to double digits. But the Blue Demons were unable to pull away from the Vikings, marking leads of 13 at 13:12 and 10:36 that in both cases North Park was able to eat back down to single digits. DePaul finally created some space with a 9-0 run over a three-and-a-half minute span to take its biggest lead at 62-45 with 6:11 remaining.
But the Vikings would not go away. An electrifying slash to the basket from the right side by Kyren Gardner that resulted in the Vikings junior guard dunking over a pair of Blue Demons and then completing the old-fashioned three-point play at 5:56, followed by a Gardner steal and a successful Quillin Dixon runner brought the Vikings to within 12, and then Kolden Vanlandingham followed that up with a pair of treys at 3:47 and 3:26 that brought North Park to within six at 62-56 with 3:17 remaining. But the Vikings finally faded in the final three minutes, as DePaul pushed the lead back out into double digits and the eventual 74-63 final.
Pumphrey led the way for the Vikings with 13 points and had a fine floor game as well with five assists to only two turnovers, plus three steals. The senior point guard from the Windy City also led the team with six rebounds. He was joined in double-figure scoring by Vanlandingham, who netted a dozen points, and by Gardner, who chipped in 11.
"We wanted to see this group together for the first time against a different team," said head coach Sean Smith. "We learned a lot about them tonight. We know now that this group can be really special. We can play with anybody in the country."
What's Ahead:
North Park officially opens its season next Wednesday, November 8, when the Vikings travel to Appleton, WI to take on Lawrence University in a 7:30 pm start.
