Game Notes: (MBK) North Park University @ North Central College (1/7/17)

Final Score
NPU 76, NCC 73

Game Summary
The Cardinals (8-6, 2-3) got off to a good start inside, and went outside a little bit as well to jump out to an early 8-4 lead. The Vikings (10-2, 3-2) hung around however and eventually turned it into a game of traded leads before hitting back to back threes to take a five point lead. The Cardinals would trail by as many as seven in the first half and would close the gap to just one with about a minute left, but a foul on a three led to three free throws and a 39-35 North Park lead going into the break. In the second half the Vikings caught fire from beyond the arc and were able to build a couple of ten point leads, and with 10:42 left made it a 14 point game. An 8-2 Cardinal run narrowed the gap to eight, and North Central kept up the pressure from there and would tie the game at 71 with just over two minutes to play. North Park answered with a second chance bucket, North Central tied it again with a minute to go, and a foul with 27 seconds to go led to a pair of free throws to make it 75-73. The Cardinals blew a wide open layup, forced a foul, and the Vikings only hit one to make it a three point game with 16 ticks left. North Central committed an offensive foul, intentionally fouled, saw North Park miss both free throws, and called a time out, but the desperation three fell short both on time and on distance as the Vikings escaped Gregory Arena with a win.

Key Stats

• Colin Lake (NPU): 5-11 FG (3-7 3PT), 5-5 FT; 18 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl. As a team, North Park was excellent from beyond the arc, but Lake led the effort with a trio of triples and those three free throws right at the end of the first half to make a one point game a four point game. Lake also had a pair of steals to help key North Park forcing the Cardinals into mistakes.
• Jordan Robinson (NPU): 4-5 FG (1-2 3PT), 5-8 FT; 14 pts, 6 reb (2 off), 4 ast, 2 stl. The early favorite for CCIW Player of the Year did not disappoint, though he only played 27 minutes, getting pulled in the first half with two fouls. These numbers don't scream "Player of the Year" caliber, but Erwin Henry did a good job limiting him, though he still got his. He hit what turned out to be the game-winning free throws, even taking into account that he missed three of them in the final seconds that nearly caused him to wear goat horns.
• Alex Sorenson (NCC): 10-16 FG (1-3 3PT), 2-4 FT; 23 pts, 11 reb (4 off), 2 ast, 1 blk. North Park is a smaller team, so getting Sorenson going was a key in this game, and he got the Cardinals off to that hot start. He was almost unstoppable in the paint, but he missed that wide open layup on the same called play that tied the game at 73. It ruined an otherwise excellent night for the preseason All-American.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Carroll 66 (7-6, 2-2), Millikin 49 (2-11, 0-4)
• @ Carthage 75 (10-3, 4-1), Elmhurst 67 (5-8, 1-3)
• @ Illinois Wesleyan 84 (11-3, 3-2), Wheaton 75 (6-7, 2-2)
• BYE: Augustana (10-3, 3-1)

Final Thoughts
This one hurt. North Park is one of the better teams in the conference, and they showed why with a gutsy road win. I didn't even mention North Park's Juwan Henry, who went 7-16 from the floor for 17 points, four assists, and three steals, and hit his usual bevy of tough layups and step back jumpers. Dude is the most talented offensive player I've seen in my time working Division III basketball. I've also been hard on the Vikings, him and Jordan Robinson in particular for their demeanors the past two years, but I have nothing to nit pick about this year. Both were gentlemen on Saturday, so maybe they've finally matured, and that's part of why North Park is such a good team this year.

I definitely think the Cardinals miss Connor Raridon. Guys like Tommy Koth and Matt Cappelletti, who have seen some extended time of late, especially the latter, are good rotation pieces, but it's hard to replace Connor's production. He was still in a cast on Saturday, and I don't know anything further about his prognosis, but the Cardinals need to start winning games and stay afloat for when he returns.

The Cardinals embark on a three game road trip with a bye in between, starting with their first game against Carroll in a quarter century up in Waukesha on Wednesday night. The Pioneers have adjusted fairly well to the CCIW, sitting at 2-2 so far, but for the Cardinals this is as close to a "must-win" game as you can get without it actually being "must-win."