CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park (14-9, 9-5) hosted the Elmhurst University Bluejays (10-12, 6-7) as the Vikings honored nine seniors before the start of Saturday's game. Having dropped four of their last five, the Vikings were desperate to get a win against a Bluejays team fighting for a playoff spot.
Elmhurst came out firing on all cylinders behind Tagen Pearson's 23 first half points on 6-9 shooting from the field, with five of those being threes. North Park settled in after starting the game 2-8, relying too heavily on the outside shot. However, senior Lance Nelson caught fire knocking down three perimeter shots, posting 15 first half points leading the Vikings. Seniors TJ Gardner and Rico Powell were active as well with 7 and 6 points respectively and accounted for all six of the Vikings' free throw attempts in the half.
The Bluejays had the advantage in rebounding, turnovers, and free throws as they shot 13 to the Vikings 6. Elmhurst's lead never exceeded ten points but heading into halftime, they were ahead on North Park 50-41.
North Park was able to go on a little run, tying the game at 58-58 but that was short lived after Elmhurst ripped a 14-2 run to go up 72-60. From there the momentum stayed with the Bluejays as they rode the career night of Pearson, scoring his career best 40 points. With just under ten minutes left to play, the deficit was just too much for the Vikings to overcome, which resulted in a 97-83 loss.
Nelson, Gardner, and Powell went out strong in their last regular season game in Carlson Gymnasium, combining for 57 of the Vikings' 83. Gardner finished with a team high 23 points and a game high 4 steals, Nelson had an efficient 20 points hitting 4 three-pointers and notching a team high 7 rebounds, and Powell finished with 14 points.
Top Performers
- TJ Gardner – 23 PTS, 4 STL
- Tagen Pearson – 40 PTS, 6 REB, 8-12 3pt
- Dominic Trelenberg – 20 PTS
- Vinnie Adjahoungbeta – 4 BLK
- Lance Nelson – 20 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST
- Rico Powell – 14 PTS
What's Next?
The Vikings close out their regular season on the road facing #13 Illinois Wesleyan. North Park is officially locked into the 3/4 seed in the CCIW playoff picture and awaits the rest of the league to wrap up their season to figure out where others are placed. The Vikings are guaranteed to host a Quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7:00 PM CT.
