DECATUR, Ill. -- The North Park men's basketball team clashed with the Millikin Big Blue Saturday evening, coming home with an 82-73 win, creeping towards the top half of the CCIW standings.
The first 8 minutes of the contest featured five lead changes as both teams battled for an advantage. The tides changed when the Vikings were able to go up six on the Big Blue thanks to a Kenton Lei free throw, followed by a three-pointer from Kolden Vanlandingham. Phil Holmes Jr. blocked a shot in the paint and Shamar Pumphrey brought it back down court for a fastbreak layup to catapult the Vikings to a 17-11 lead. Millikin pulled back in on a free throw and three pointer by Jacob Bullock but North Park, who shot 46.88% from the field (15-for-32) in the first half, would hold a 12-point advantage with a 43-31 halftime score.
As the second half unfolded, the Vikings continued their dominance, wielding a commanding 10-point lead for the majority of play. The Big Blue struggled to contain North Park, who surged ahead by 16 points on three separate occasions during the final 20 minutes of the game.
Vanlandingham led the Vikings in scoring with 27 points on the night, followed by Pumphrey with 15 points and Kenton Lei with a new career high of 13 points surpassing his 10 points against North Central this past Wednesday.
Quick Hits:
- Vikings go 10-for-25 (40.0%) from beyond the arc, five from Vanlandingham
- North Park gets 30 points off the bench, including 15 from Pumphrey
- Vanlandingham with a near double-double: 27pts, 8reb
- Big Blue held to 38.6% (27-for-70) from the field and 26.1% (6-for-23) from deep
- North Park overcomes rebounding margin, Big Blue with 44, NPU with 32
- Millikin's Chase Travis came off the bench for a double-double: 13 points and 10 rebounds
What's Next?
The Vikings (8-9, 3-5 CCIW) return home to face CCIW foe Augustana next Saturday, January 20 inside the North Park Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 4:15pm, following the women's game.
