CHICAGO, Ill. -- After notching a close one-point win over a tough conference foe in the Carthage Firebirds, the North Park Vikings (9-4, 4-0) hosted #7 Illinois Wesleyan Titans (11-2, 3-1) in a matchup between number one and number two in the CCIW.
Early on North Park maintained control of the tempo and forced numerous turnovers (8), something that Vikings fans are accustomed to at this point. With both teams being at the top of the conference, one would think that it would be a high scoring affair, but it was both teams' defense that stood out as neither team scored over 35 in the first half.
The Vikings had an early 7-point lead at 11-4, showing some promise against a nationally ranked team, until about midway through the first half when the Titans started clicking on offense. Wesleyan went on an 18-9 run during the last five minutes of the first half, shifting the momentum their way and closing the half with a six-point lead 34-28. Senior Kyren Gardner tied two Titans players for the game high at nine points at half, while fellow seniors Preston Bax III and Taijon Barry added six and five points, respectively.
The second half continued to be a battle as the Vikings applied their signature full court pressure and Wesleyan playing sound defense to force North Park into unwanted turnovers. Both teams statistically were neck-and-neck, virtually within two of each other in each category, with the slight advantage leaning in favor of the Vikings. The tell-tale difference was in the free-throw disparity as the Vikings only shot 17 and the Titans shot 25.
Illinois Wesleyan's offensive barrage continued in the second half, in the first ten minutes they outscored the Vikings 19-11 and extending their lead to 14 points at 53-39. From there, the Vikings rallied behind a hustle plays by juniors Tristan Arneaud and Lance Nelson, back-to-back three pointers and four free throws from senior Rico Powell, followed by a steal and fastbreak dunk from Taijon Barry. Suddenly, the Vikings had a 14-2 run of their own and cut the Titan lead to 2 with the score at 55-53.
A scoreless first half from Powell didn't sway his confidence in staying aggressive. He managed to tie two Titans players with 19 points to end the game, all those points coming in the second half shooting 9-9 from the free throw line. Gardner, Barry, and Bax III had strong outings ending with 11, 10, and 8 points respectively, all earning two steals and Berry and Bax adding two blocks each as well.
Down the stretch both teams went back and forth staying within 8 points of each other, but as the clock ticked the Vikings had to resort to playing the foul game and hope for some misses from the Titans to stay close. Illinois Wesleyan walked away with the 80-69 victory moving to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in CCIW play while North Park falls to 9-5 overall and 4-1 in CCIW play, sharing the top spot in the league race.
Top Performers
- Rico Powell – 19 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL
- Kyren Gardner – 11 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL
- Taijon Barry – 10 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 2 BLK
- Preston Bax III – 8 PTS, 2 STL, 2 BLK, 2-4 3PT
- Lance Nelson – 5 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK
What's Next?
Saturday, January 11th, the Vikings will be hosting fellow Viking foe Augustana College at 4:15pm followed by another home game against North Central College on Saturday, January 18th.
