NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- North Park Men's Basketball cut down a 19-point deficit in Naperville on Saturday but ultimately fell to the North Central College Cardinals, 86-81.
For most of the first half the two teams were lock and step until about six minutes to go before halftime when the Cardinals started to gain control when they went on a 23-6 run to close the half. The Cardinals dominated the glass and got to the free throw line nine more times than the Vikings, as well as shooting 6-9 from behind the arc while the Vikings struggled at 3-12 from three. Overall, the Cardinals shot 58.6% from the field and the Vikings struggled at 40.6% trailing North Central 48-31 at halftime.
Five minutes into the second half a 7-0 run capped off by a Lance Nelson steal and two free throws gave the Vikings a spark, which allowed them to get themselves back in the game after being down as much as 19. Senior TJ Gardner got into a groove going on his own personal 6-2 run to get the Vikings within two points at 71-69. Gardner finished as the Vikings' high scorer with 19, a new career high. Nelson followed up with 16 points of his own, and senior Kyren Gardner added 11 points off the bench.
With less than a minute to go in the game, the Vikings were down 83-81 looking to get one more stop and go the other way to tie the game or take the lead. North Central's Drew Gaston, who had the game high 25 points, launched a step back three that seemed to hit every part of the rim as it bounced around the cylinder and fell through the hoop give the Cardinals an 86-81 lead with 16.8 seconds left in the game. The Vikings were unable to pull of the miracle in the end, dropping their third game in their last four falling to 14-8 and 9-4 in conference.
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What's Next?
Back-to-back home games and one last away game await the Vikings to close the regular season. Carroll University comes to town as the Vikings host the Pioneers on Wednesday, February 12th at 7pm, followed by senior day against Elmhurst University on Saturday, February 15th at 4:15pm. The Vikings close out the regular season against No. 2-ranked Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois.
