Chicago, Il., -- The Vikings head into one of their most challenging games of the season on Sunday, heading north to face off against the #20 University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire Blugolds (10-0, 0-0). North Park (8-2, 2-1) just wrapped up a four-game home stint in which they won all four of those games including two conference wins over Millikin and North Central. Most recently, the Vikings took care of business against a winless Cornell College team that saw senior guard Kolden Vanlandingham post the 4th triple-double in program history with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Mike Vuckovic, Julian Campbell, and Marquis Vance were dominant as well in the Vikings' win over Cornell; Vuckovic hit five threes to add to his 29 point total, while Campbell anchored the paint with 24 points and 13 rebounds going 3-4 from behind the arc as well, while Vance threw in 22 points and 5 rebounds on 10-15 shooting. Defensively, North Park forced Cornell into 15 turnovers with their patented full-court pressure and high energy, seeing three different players with at least three steals.
Looking ahead to their matchup with the Blugolds, the Vikings defense will have their hands full facing an offense that has scored at least 79 points in seven of their ten games. The Eau-Claire defense has held teams to a 60 point average this season, however North Park is averaging a scorching 93 points a game, good for first in the CCIW by a ten-point margin, setting up a potential high scoring affair between two well rounded offenses. Much like North Park, Eau-Claire has multiple players averaging double-figure points as Xavier Lewis and Carter Lichstinn lead the way with 13 and 12.6 points per game averages respectively, with both players being the Blugolds' leading rebounders. As a team, the Blugolds make limited mistakes, turning the ball over only 8.5 times a game and logging 14 assists per game. When they do turn the ball over, it is hard for opposing teams to score in transition because they only allow 9 fastbreak points a game, a calling card and mark of success for North Park's play style so far this season.
Eau-Claire will host North Park on Sunday, December 21st at 3pm.
