BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - In an extremely physical game that embodied the nature of CCIW basketball, the North Park Men's Basketball Team dropped their sixth-straight game at Illinois Wesleyan, 70-56, Wednesday evening.
North Park controlled the game for the majority of the first half, holding Illinois Wesleyan to 33% (11-33) shooting from the field while forcing 12 turnovers. However, the Titans dominated the rebounding numbers, and the Vikings led only 28-27 at the break.
The second half got off to a rocky start for North Park, as the Titans mustered up a 10-0 run to take a 47-38 lead, and never looked back. The difference in the contest rested on the Vikings poor three-point shooting (7-28, 4-19 in the second half) and their inability to rebound on either end of the court.
Sophomore guard Lance Nelson led the Vikings in scoring with 12 points, shooting 57% (4-7) from the field, all his makes being from 3-point range. Nelson also contributed 5 rebounds in his 20 minutes of action. Junior guard Kolden Vanlandingham contributed 9 points along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Graduate transfer Trey Brooks added an efficient 7 points on 60% shooting (3-5) in his 13 minutes of play.
As for the Titans, Nick Roper led the team with 15 points. Ryan Sroka, Harrison Wilmsen and Mason Funk also secured double-digit scoring totals, with 12, 11, and 11, respectively. Forward Marko Anderson pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds for the Titans.
Top Performers:
What's Next?
The Vikings (2-6, 0-3 CCIW) look to break their six-game losing streak and secure their first CCIW win of the season as they travel to Rock Island to take on Augustana College. Tipoff is set for 7:15 PM at the Roy J. Carver Center in Rock Island, IL.
