Chicago, Il., -- The Vikings (7-2, 2-1) are set to host the Cornell College Rams (0-8, 0-2) on Thursday, aiming to make it four straight wins to close out their four-game home stint and continue their home court dominance. North Park is 4-1 at home this season and have the chance to make that 5-1 against a winless Cornell team.
Teams may see an opponent that is 0-8 and think that it will be an easy win, but Cornell, like any team, can get hot at any moment. The Rams' approach is unorthodox in the sense that they go 16-deep into their bench, keeping fresh bodies in the game at all times. This style lends itself to not having a ball dominant players or stat stuffing performances from any one player. Notable names for Cornell are Jude Weaver, Wayne Jurica, and Caleb Leslie who are the top three scorers for the Rams averaging 9.1, 8.6, and 8.1 points per game, respectively. Cornell struggles to take care of the ball averaging over 16 turnovers per game, allowing 18.9 fastbreak points per game as well. North Park should have the advantage in the rebounding margins as the Rams have a -9.4 rebounding differential, providing another opportunity for the Vikings to get out and run to score easy baskets.
North Park is coming off a historic win over Greenville University where they scored the most points in program history with 138. Two players had career nights against the high-paced style of play that Greenville tries to get other teams into. Freshman Marquis Vance posted a career high 32 points on 15-17 shooting, adding three steals to his totals as well. Guard Jerome Smith Jr. also had career highs in points and assists finishing with 19 points and 9 assists, while grabbing 6 rebounds and 3 steals along the way. Mike Vuckovic, named CCIW Player of the Week and earning D3 Team of the Week honors, had 27 points in 19 minutes against Greenville and looks to continue his hot streak to help the Vikings stay on this run. Due to their large lead in the latter minutes of the second half, every player dressed for the Vikings was able to see the floor and six players scoring in double figures.
North Park's game against Cornell College will tip off at 4pm on Thursday, December 18th at 4pm.
