NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The North Park Vikings men's basketball team started a two-game stretch away from home on Wednesday night, facing North Central College inside Gregory Arena. Both teams looked to pivot in CCIW play, as a game that saw 22 lead changes ended 84-79 in favor of North Park.
The first half of this important CCIW contest featured a high-pace effort from both squads, showing nine lead changes through the first 20 minutes of play. The Vikings were up 7 points on North Central until the Cardinals battled their way back in to take the lead with a three pointer from Brian Johnson to establish a 43-41 lead over North Park going into the halftime break.
The two teams shot in the 50% range from the field with the Cardinals 55.2% (16-for-29) just beating out NPU at 53.8% (14-for-26). The Vikings were able to knock down 6-of-10 (60.0%) three-point attempts compared to North Central's 5-for-12 (41.7%) effort.
The second half played out in nearly exactly the same fashion as the first, adding another 13 lead changes for a total of 22 on the night. The second half was a two-possession game in its entirety, with North Park taking its most important lead with 2:28 on the clock. Trailing 76-74, junior guard Julian Gatewood nailed a three pointer off an assist from senior guard Shamar Pumphrey before junior guard Kolden Vanlandingham dropped in a layup in NPU's next possession to go up, 79-76. From then on, it was a free throw battle. North Park took advantage of this, as sophomore guard Lance Nelson, who had a career night, would score the final three points of the game from the charity stripe, sealing the 84-79 win.
Nelson broke his previous career high of 16 points on Nov. 11, 2022 with 21 tonight, leading all scorers in the contest. Pumphrey and Vanlandingham backed him up with 13 points each while senior forward Kenton Lei stayed hot with new career highs in points (12), field goals made (6) and steals (2).
For North Central, six Cardinals reached double figures: Sean Molloy (15), Ethan Helwig, Ken Thomas, Drew Gaston, and Terrance Moncrief with 12 each, and Erikas Gurskas (11).
What's Next?
The Vikings (7-9, 2-5 CCIW) are back on the road in Decatur, Ill. to face Millikin University (6-9, 2-4 CCIW) this coming Saturday, Jan. 13, at 4:15 pm inside the Griswold Center.
