Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – North Park scored the first nine points of the second half Saturday, breaking open what had been a one-point game at halftime, and went on to an 87-78 win over Augustana at Carver Center. The visitors remained unbeaten on the year at 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the CCIW, while the hosts fell to 5-2 this season and 0-1 in the league.
 
Augustana had whittled a seven-point first half North Park lead to one on a Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) dunk with 37 seconds left before halftime. The teams combined for three empty possessions the rest of the way and went to the break with North Park on top 34-33.
 
However, in the first two minutes of the second half, the visitors scored nine straight points and the Vikings would find themselves playing from behind the rest of the way. Darius Brown scored off a Jordan Robinson assist 11 seconds into the period to put North Park up 36-33. After an Augustana turnover, Robinson scored in transition and after another stop, drilled his fourth three-pointer of the night to make it 41-33. On North Park's next possession, Robinson found T.J. Cobbs in the lane for a bucket that extended the advantage to 43-33.
 
Augustana stanched the flow with back-to-back three-pointers from Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) and Johnston and the deficit would bounce between four and eight points until a Joe Biko layup put the visitors back up by 10 at 52-42 with 13:13 left. The margin eventually reached 64-48 on a short Robinson jumper in the lane with 7:50 to play.
 
One final Augustana push cut the deficit to six twice in the final minute and a half. Chrishawn Orange's (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) three-pointer got the Vikings to within 78-72 at 1:13 and a Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) layup with 48 seconds left made it 80-74, but North Park converted nine of 10 free throws in the final 1:01 to keep Augustana at bay.
 
The first 10 minutes of the game saw nine lead changes. Orange's jumper in the lane gave the hosts their final lead at 14-13 with 12:01 left in the first half. Billy Kirby's three-pointer put North Park on top 16-14 before a blocked shot and layup by freshman Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) forged the game's final tie at 16-all. Robinson answered with a three-pointer at the 10:16 mark and North Park would lead the rest of the way.
 
Johnston and sophomore Nolan Ebel (Regis Jesuit HS, Englewood, Colo.) led Augustana with 16 points and seven rebounds each. Ebel's line also included five assists and three steals. Orange added 15 points, Sortillo a dozen (along with five assists) and Wofford 10. Sophomore Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) had a team-high seven assists.
 
Robinson finally missed his last shot of the night after hitting eight straight. He finished the night with 22 points (8-9 fg, 4-5 3p, 2-2 ft), 12 assists, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Juwan Henry led North Park with 23 points and Colin Lake chipped in with 14.
 
The Vikings finished 28 of 58 (.483) from the field, seven of 20 (.350) from three-point range and 15 of 18 (.833) from the foul line. North Park scorched the nets at a .588 (30-51) clip from the floor, .647 (11-17) from long distance and .842 (16-19) from the free throw line. Augustana won the battle of the boards 31-24, but committed 15 turnovers to 13 for the visitors.
 
The Vikings will try and even their CCIW record on Wednesday, December 7, when Wheaton visits Carver Center for a 7:00 p.m. tip.