CHICAGO, Ill. -- The road doesn't get any easier as the season rolls on for the Vikings, as every team except for one has an above .500 record including the Bluejays coming into town. North Park Men's Basketball fell to 10-5 in their last game against the first place Carthage Firebirds and now sit at 3-3 in CCIW play. They face another tall task in hosting the well coached Elmhurst Bluejays (9-6, 2-4), a team that is looking to move up in the CCIW standings and can do so with a win over the Vikings.
For their performances so far this season, guards Mike Vuckovic and Kolden Vanlandingham have been name to the Bevo Francis Award watchlist; a list of 100 players from small schools across the United States who are candidates for the award. The award, given by the Small College Basketball Foundation, recognizes the top small college basketball player in the country for a given season and has been given out every year since 2016. Both players have had extraordinary season so far, and hope to continue their play down the stretch of the season and hopefully into the playoffs.
Vanlandingham continues to find his teammates easy scoring opportunities as he leads the CCIW in assists with over six a game, including freshman Marquis Vance who is coming off a productive outing against Carthage where he tallied 14 points and tied for the team high with7 rebounds. Meanwhile, Campbell will be looking for a more dominant interior performance at home after being held to 4 points in the loss to the Firebirds. The Vikings' offense remains one of the most potent in the conference, but they will need to find more consistency from deep after shooting just 21.7% from beyond the arc in their previous contest.
Elmhurst has dropped four of their last six of their last ten games after starting the season with five straight wins, most recently falling to Carroll University in a 92-61 blowout. As a team the Bluejays shoot 35% from behind the arc and are third in the CCIW in total made three point shots behind North Park and Carthage, with four players shooting over 36% individually. Dominic Trelenberg is their leading scorer with just over 17 points per game while Vinnie Adjahoungbeta (12.2), Aidyn Boone (10.3), and Luke Smith (10.3) round out the rest of the top scorers for Elmhurst. Trelenberg's 17 points per game puts him as the 8th leading scorer in the conference while the Vikings' Mike Vuckovic and Kolden Vanlandingham sit at 4th and 10th respectively, setting up for another game that has six of the top 25 scorers in the CCIW including the aforementioned Adjahoungbeta along with Julian Campbell and Marquis Vance for North Park. North Park will have to keep an eye on Adjahoungbeta on the both ends of the court due to his ability to knock down perimeter shots, shooting a conference best 46.5% from three, and being a top-10 rebounder as well.
Tip-off is set for Saturday, January 17th in the Carlson Gymnasium as the Vikings look to defend their home court and secure a vital conference victory. Fans are encouraged to pack the stands to help North Park regain their momentum and get back in the win column.
