CHICAGO. Ill. -- Coming off their electric last second win over Augustana on Wednesday, the Vikings hosted the Wheaton College Thunder Saturday night in a match up that had big playoff implications moving forward. With both teams sitting at 6-7 in CCIW play and the Thunder holding the tie breaker over the Vikings, North Park was in must win mode to keep their fourth seed hopes alive in the CCIW tournament. Before tip-off, North Park celebrated their four seniors Tyvin Garrison, William Bates III, Kolden Vanlandingham, and Dylan Fuzak who all played critical roles in tonight's matchup.
The Thunder jumped out to a 14-7 lead early in the first half as the Vikings struggled to find a rhythm after tip-off as Soren Richardson led Wheaton with 11 points. The Vikings were able to get right back in it behind the backcourt duo of Mike Vuckovic and Kolden Vanlandingham, both guards putting up 14 point first halves, leading all scorers and fellow guard William Bates III added 8 points on an efficient 4-6 shooting along with a steal. The remainder of the first half was a back and forth battle that saw four lead changes and the Vikings taking a one-point halftime lead after Mike Vuckovic hit a step back three to make it 45-44 heading into the break.
Lead changes continued to be the story of the night with 14 total, as the Vikings and Thunder were neck and neck the entirety of the second half. Three more Wheaton players jumped into double-digits to backup Richardson who finished with 29 points; forward Kyan VanderWoude put in 23 on a blazing 10-15, with Carson Grier (16) and Brady Wynja (10) rounding out the starters.
Vuckovic and Vanlandingham led the charge for the Vikings offensively with 24 and 23 points respectively; both players combined for 11 assists as well, getting their teammates involved. William Bates finished with 16 points on 7-9 shooting, while Harrison Long (8) and Marquis Vance (9) provided sparks for the Vikings offense when they seemed to stall out. Vance had 3 steals making his presence known on the defensive end with one of those leading to a huge transition dunk. Dylan Fuzak led all Vikings with seven crucial rebounds, three of them being offensive that led to extra possession for North Park.
Down the stretch Vanlandingham found Tyvin Garrison in the corner for a wide-open three point shot that gave the Vikings a 92-90 lead with a minute left, but Richardson came right back and tied the game at 92 with a jump hook in the middle of the lane. After the Viking timeout, Vanlandingham got to his spot for the turnaround midrange jump shot to push North Park ahead 94-92. Wheaton came out of their respective timeout with a play drawn up that got Reid Olson open in the corner for the game-winning three but was off target as Lazario Cornish came down with maybe the biggest rebound of the season. Cornish went to the line after the Thunder fouled him immediately, knocking down 1-2 at the stripe.
With the clock at less than five seconds and the score at 95-92 in favor of the Vikings, Wheaton heaved a desperation shot from just across halfcourt that bounced off the back of the rim, securing the North Park victory.
Through Saturday games played, North Park (14-9, 7-7) sits in the fourth spot of the CCIW standings with the luxury of controlling their own destiny to lock that spot and enjoy a home court game in the CCIW Tournament. The Vikings' next game is Wednesday, February 18th as they host their last regular season home game against the #16 Illinois Wesleyan Titans.
