Game Notes: (MBK) North Park University @ North Central College(2/21/15)

Final Score
NCC 82, NPU 72

Game Summary
Playing for the final spot in the CCIW Tournament, the Vikings (15-10, 6-8) came ready to play, going on a 9-0 run to open up an 11-2 lead as the Cardinals (18-7, 8-6) struggled to take care of the ball or get anything going offensively. North Park led for almost the entire first half with the Cardinals cutting it close a few times, but not forcing a tie until there were 28 seconds left in the half. The Vikings got a bucket with just three ticks left before the break to go up 36-34 at the break. North Central tried to keep pace early in the second half, but the Vikings would push the lead back up to 49-41 with 15:39 left. The tide began to turn from there though, as the Cardinals tightened up the game and finally took the lead at 58-56 with just under ten minutes to play on a couple corner threes. The Vikings kept pace, making it a one possession game a couple times, but the Cardinals had answers each time, and late stalling tactics from North Park's coach were too little, too late.

Key Stats

• Jack Burchett (NCC): 8-14 FG, 5-6 FT; 21 pts, 14 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 2 blk. North Park really had no answer inside for the senior big man, who had a final game at Merner to remember. I got pretty amped after an early and-1 to answer that 9-0 North Park run to the point where I had to be calmed down so I could last for the rest of the game. Anyway, he continued that pace for the rest of the game while I paced myself. Jack also had the exclamation point of the game late: taking an outlet pass with a wide open lane and throwing down a thunderous dunk with just under a minute to play to make it 76-65 and draw a huge roar from the Merner faithful.
• Kevin Honn (NCC): 7-9 FG (2-3 3PT), 4-6 FT; 20 pts, 7 reb (2 off), 1 ast, 1 stl. Kevin had a fairly quiet first half with just six points, but he was a key part of the second half rally. With the game at 56-52 North Park, he went into the far corner by the band and drained an open three to cut the lead to one. 46 seconds later, he had an open look by the Cardinal bench, and with the whole gym on its feet in expectation, drained it. It's been a long time since I've heard Merner get that loud.
• Juwan Henry (NPU): 15-22 FG (2-6 3PT), 2-4 FT; 34 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 2 ast, 3 stl. Man, this guy. He showed why he won back to back CCIW Player of the Week awards this season, draining multiple step-back jumpers and being a huge reason why North Park led at halftime, considering he also hit the go-ahead layup. All of this said... I don't have much respect for this guy. I counted at least two flops, and there were probably more, while he got the call at least once.

Around the CCIW

• @ Illinois Wesleyan 96 (18-7, 10-4), Elmhurst 66 (19-6, 9-5)
• Augustana 89 (21-4, 11-3), @ Wheaton 55 (11-14, 4-10)
• Carthage 70 (10-15, 5-9), @ Millikin 68 (8-17, 3-11) (OT)

Final Thoughts
My dislike extends beyond just Juwan Henry; I really don't have a lot of respect for this North Park team. Head coach Tom Slyder tried to be like Grey Giovanine (who I do respect) in terms of yelling and the jacket removal, but from what I heard from fans seated behind me, he should have been T'd up for swearing at the refs at one point. Then late in the game with the outcome decided, he started calling unnecessary timeouts to extend the game. I get the idea of "Play till the buzzer", but this seemed a little too much. He called timeout with three seconds left and the score here to get his end of the bench guys in for all the good that did. All in all, just not the way you should end a game like this.

Enough sour grapes though; the Cardinals had a must-win game at home, and they delivered. After a one year hiatus from CCIW Tournament play, they're back. Augustana awaits on Friday night in the semis, but I'll have more about that this coming week in a CCIW Tournament preview post.

Since odds are this was my final men's game of the season (I mean, the odds of Merner hosting a set of men's game in the NCAA Tournament are all but nil), I want to take the opportunity to thank athletic director Jim Miller, sports information director Clark Teuscher and men's basketball coach Todd Raridon for the opportunity to be their public address announcer full time this season. I had a blast, and got to be a part of some fantastic basketball games this season. Hopefully, I'll be able to come back and do it all again next year!