CHICAGO, ILL.-- North Park made just enough plays down the stretch to earn a 63-60 victory over Trine Saturday afternoon at North Park Gymnasium.
The Vikings outscored the Thunder 9-6 over the final 4:19 to break a 54-54 tie and snap Trine's winning-streak at five games. Juwan Henry scored 21 points, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds to lead North Park to the victory. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) notched his first double-double of the season, scoring 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds for Trine. The Vikings outrebounded the Thunder 40-27 and held a 28-18 edge in points in the paint. Trine falls to 5-3 on the season. North Park improved to 5-1.
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) scored a team-high 16 points and dished out five assists for Trine. Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) added 11 points, while Adison Daub (Corunna, Ind./DeKalb) scored a season-high nine points. Trine shot 39 percent from the field (21-of-53), and hit 8-of-22 (36 percent) from long range.
Michael Hutchinson and Jordan Robinson each notched 14 points for the Vikings. Hutchinson added seven rebounds and three assists. North Park shot 43 percent (22-of-51). The Vikings hit 4-of-10 (40 percent) from three-point range, and connected on 71 percent (15-of-21) of their foul shots.
An 11-2 run opened up a 10-point first half lead for North Park. Hutchinson scored five points during that run, with his two free throws making the score 25-15 with 7:13 to play in the half. Trine was able to chip away at that lead, and pulled within 27-25 after back-to-back threes by Jake Bagley (Van Wert, Ohio/Van Wert) to close the half. Bagley finished the afternoon with nine points.
The Thunder continued to chip away at the lead, tying the score for the first time on Bagley's final three of the game. A Dixon three gave Trine its first lead of the second half at 42-39 with 12:03 to play.
Trine led by as much as four, but a 10-3 North Park run gave the Vikings a 54-51 lead. A Daub three tied the score with 4:19 to play and set the stage for the deciding stretch.
A three by Henry and a pair of free throws by Hutchinson were countered by a free throw and layup by Good, which gave the Vikings a 59-57 lead with 2:11 remaining. Holmquist split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one, but Robinson hit a short floater to give the Vikings a 61-58 lead with 34 seconds left.
Trine came up empty on back-to-back possessions, and NPU hit 2-of-4 free throws to make it a two-possession game and earn the victory.
Trine returns to action Monday, Dec. 29 when they face St. Vincent in the 2014 Sudeck Tournament at Case Western. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.