ELMHURST, Ill. -- Coming off a 12-point victory against North Central College, North Park Men's Basketball (11-5, 6-1) looked to extend their win streak to three against the Elmhurst University Bluejays (7-9, 3-4). The Vikings did just that in the 72-61 road win, thanks to 25 points from senior guard Rico Powell and a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for senior forward Taijon Barry.
Sophomore DJ Wallace opened the game for the Vikings with two emphatic blocks on Bluejays shooters attempting the three, one of which led to him scoring a fastbreak layup. This was followed by Powell knocking down a three-pointer of his own to quickly take a 5-2 lead.
The first half was a close affair that could've been blown wide open if the Vikings were able to capitalize on some early opportunities. Their suffocating defense was humming in the first half causing nine turnovers in the first 13 minutes of play with six of those being steals. Powell and fellow senior guard TJ Gardner had two steals apiece in that time frame holding down the Vikings defense with Wallace's two blocks.
North Park went into halftime up 34-31 behind the hot hand of Powell who had half of the Vikings' points with 17 points. He shot 6-10 from the field, 3-6 from behind the arc, and led all players in +/- with a +12.
Despite Powell's shooting, seven other Vikings scored at least once, continuing the balance offensive attack that has made North Park dangerous all season.
The Bluejays quickly scored five-straight points to open the half, but the response was a an impressive 15-2 run by the Vikings to go up 49-38 before the Bluejays regrouped with a timeout. The run would extend for the Vikings to 23-10, putting them ahead 57-41 around the halfway mark of the half.
Elmhurst kept fighting by getting some stops and closing the deficit to as little as 10 but it wasn't enough to overcome the control that the Vikings had over the game. It seemed that every time the Bluejays scrapped together some points, North Park would respond down low or beyond the arc for an equalizer.
The Vikings held the Bluejays to their second-lowest scoring total of the season (61) and their 72-61 win over Elmhurst represents the lowest total a North Park opponent has scored through 17 games played.
Quick Hits:
- Powell leads all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting
- Double-double for Barry - 10reb, 10pts
- Five assists for senior guard Lance Nelson
- North Park with just six turnovers to the Bluejays' 16
- Elmhurst's Dominic Trelenberg led the Bluejays with 14 points
- North Park with a season high 36 three-point attempts
- Vikings, Titans, and Firebirds all stay at 7-1 in CCIW action to hold the league's top spot
What's Next?
North Park (12-5, 7-1 CCIW) continues with a batch of road games this weekend as they play Millikin University (10-7, 4-4 CCIW) in Decatur, Illinois on Saturday, January 25th at 4:15pm, followed by a trip to Rock Island, Illinois for another matchup against Augustana College (10-7, 3-5 CCIW) on Wednesday, January 29that 7pm.
