CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park Men's Basketball got in the win column in a big way on Wednesday night with a 73-64 win over Loras College, who received votes in the D3hoops.com Preseason National Top 25 Poll. The Vikings forced 20 turnovers from the Duhawks and were credited with 15 steals in the important non-conference win.
Loras jumped out to a 12-5 lead on a handful of layups and some short shots before three pointers by junior guard William Bates III and senior guard Davante Robinson closed the gap to three points at 14-11. Another three by Robinson and a fastbreak layup from senior guard Rico Powell put North Park ahead, 16-15, midway through the first half of the game.
Both teams would trade one-possession leads through the rest of the half as Loras held a slim 29-28 advantage at the halftime break.
Robinson led the Vikings with six points from a pair of threes through the first 20 minutes, alongside another six points by Powell. The Duhawks' Jack Haynes had 13 to lead the first-half scoring.
North Park's pressure and fast-paced offense paid dividends through the second half. The Vikings had eight steals and caused 11 turnovers by the Duhawks. Bax and senior forward Taijon Barry each had three steals in the half.
The Vikings built a six-point lead through the first eight minutes of the game on three pointers by Robinson and Bates before the Duhawks responded with a pair of layups and three pointer by Kyle Kober to knot things up, 44-44.
With 10 minutes left, Robinson dropped in another deep three, senior guard TJ Gardner went line to line for a layup, and Bax put in another long ball followed by a layup to give North Park a double-digit lead, 54-44. They would extend this lead to 14 on a layup by junior guard Tristan Arneaud, and-one layup for senior guard Lance Nelson, and corner three by junior forward Dylan Fuzak.
This lead would hold for the next seven minutes of game time as the closest the Duhawks would get was an eight-point deficit. North Park's first home game went their way, securing the 73-64 win inside Carlson Gym.
Quick Hits:
- Double-digit scoring performances for Robinson (12), Gardner (11), and Powell (11)
- Six assists for Nelson and seven rebounds for Powell
- Two blocked shots for Barry, who added four steals alongside Nelson
- Vikings shoot 28-58 from the field and generate 23 points off turnovers
- The Duhawks' Haynes led all scorers with 23, securing a double-double with 14 rebounds
What's Next?
North Park (1-2) continues a four-game home stretch with a game against UW-Oshkosh (3-1) this coming Saturday, Nov. 23. Tipoff in Carlson is set for 4:00 PM.
