MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[AndOne]

Juwan Henry is not playing for NPU today. Early returns favor some type of injury as the culprit.

[markerickson]

I went to a North Park Viking away game for the first time in approximately 15 years.  I brought my camera because I wanted to get some celebratory pictures of Juwan Henry scoring more than 12 points to exceed 1,999 points in his career.  I walked into Fanagel and immediately saw Mr. Henry in street clothes.  He and I had a brief conversation; I did not ask the nature of his injury.

Mr. Versatile aka Jordan Robinson picked up his first foul in less than two minutes after tipoff.  He got called for his second several minutes later, and then sat for 10 minutes.  With NPU down, they deployed five players whose combined ppg was under 10.  It looked ominous.  NPU finally took the lead with around 4:30 left in the game as JRob was playing with four fouls.  JRob extended the lead to 10 after yet another Viking steal with a dunk for which he received a technical.  Cobbs, Lake, and Kirby all exceeded their season average tonight.

Two Bluejay freshmen, Kern and Tennant, who had great games in Chicago, scored approximately 12 points combined. 

[markerickson]

Just went over to the Carthage video feed where the Red Men are losing by 12 at the half.  I can't figure out their midcourt logo - it looks like a guitar pick.  Anybody know whether the NCAA tried to get the RED MEN to change their nickname like North Dakota had to eliminate the Fighting Sioux?  Is this even a controversy on campus?  Are their women's teams called the Lady Red Men?

[4samuy]

I went to a North Park Viking away game for the first time in approximately 15 years.  I brought my camera because I wanted to get some celebratory pictures of Juwan Henry scoring more than 12 points to exceed 1,999 points in his career.  I walked into Fanagel and immediately saw Mr. Henry in street clothes.  He and I had a brief conversation; I did not ask the nature of his injury.

Mr. Versatile aka Jordan Robinson picked up his first foul in less than two minutes after tipoff.  He got called for his second several minutes later, and then sat for 10 minutes.  With NPU down, they deployed five players whose combined ppg was under 10.  It looked ominous.  NPU finally took the lead with around 4:30 left in the game as JRob was playing with four fouls.  JRob extended the lead to 10 after yet another Viking steal with a dunk for which he received a technical.  Cobbs, Lake, and Kirby all exceeded their season average tonight.

Two Bluejay freshmen, Kern and Tennant, who had great games in Chicago, scored approximately 12 points combined. 

Sorry to hear Henry didn't play, but coming away with a win on the road having to go that deep into the bench will only help NPU as the season progresses, even if it was at Elmhurst.

[4samuy]

I've been watching the Carthage vs Augustana game  with Augustana up by 12 at half. Augie was up by 20 at one point.  For a reason I'm not aware of Pierson Wofford is not in the lineup and his replacement in the rotation, Michael Hoekstra has been awful.  I've thought all year the best way to defend Augie is sit back in a zone or matchup zone which is what Bosko has done.  IMHO Carthage has an opportunity to win this game if they start making a few shots.

[markerickson]

Just saw in front of the bench "Lady Reds" painted on the floor.  Carthage down by three.

[AppletonRocks]

I thought the WIAC was exciting  , but today I read that the NPU fans who sat in the first row vs IWU actually impacted the game via delay of game infractions  .  Exciting stuff.  Think I will move to Illinois so I can see me some of that action !   

[Gregory Sager]

Yes! Carthage takes down Augie in overtime, 74-70!

NPU is tied for first!

[iwu70]

Wow, congrats to Carthage!

'70

[Titan Q]

Standings (through Jan. 28)
Augustana: 8-2
North Park: 8-2
Carroll: 6-4
Carthage: 6-4
North Central: 5-5
Illinois Wesleyan: 4-5
Wheaton: 4-5
Elmhurst: 2-8
Millikin: 1-9

+/- Standings (through Jan. 28)
North Park +3
Augustana +2
Carthage +2
Carroll +1
IWU +0
Wheaton +0
North Central -1
Elmhurst -3
Millikin -4

Remaining schedules for conf. tournament contenders
* Augustana: @Wheaton, vs Millikin, vs North Central, @Carroll, @North Park, @Illinois Wesleyan
* North Park: vs North Central, @Carthage, @Wheaton, @Carroll, vs Augustana, vs Millikin
* Carthage: @Elmhurst, vs North Park, vs Illinois Wesleyan, vs North Central, @Millikin, vs Wheaton
* Carroll: @North Central, @Illinois Wesleyan, vs Augustana, vs North Park, vs Wheaton, @Elmhurst
* Wheaton: vs Augustana, vs Elmhurst, @Millikin, vs North Park, vs Illinois Wesleyan, @Carroll, @Carthage
* Illinois Wesleyan: @Millikin, vs Carroll, vs Elmhurst, @Carthage, @Wheaton, vs North Central, vs Augustana
* North Central: vs Carroll, @North Park, @Augustana, vs Elmhurst, @Carthage, @Illiinois Wesleyan

[Titan Q]

The result in Kenosha tonight really swung things in terms of the title race.  With the standings now tied (Augie 8-2, North Park 8-2), and North Park with a more favorable schedule (including hosting Augie in Chicago), and a win over Augie already in their back pocket, the Chicago Vikings are now the CCIW favorites. Now, of course, that can change quickly...but right now NPU is in the best position.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 70
Elmhurst 62

Billy Kirby: 19 pts, 5:1 a:to
Jordan Robinson: 16 pts, 9 rebs
Colin Lake: 15 pts, 7 rebs
T.J. Cobbs: 10 pts, 4 stls

Derek Dotlich: 15 pts
Caleb Mowry: 14 pts
Jalen Loving: 11 pts
Devin Tennant: 7 rebs
Ryan Patton: 6 rebs, 5:0 a:to
Brian Kern: 6 rebs

You know that old taunt, "I can take you with one hand tied behind my back"? Great taunt. But don't ever literally try it in real life.

I have never been so happy to walk out of a gym after an eight-point win over a 6-12 team. Of course, it's a little different than your normal eight-point win over a 6-12 team when you have to do it with your All-American on the bench in street clothes, while your other star picks up his second foul a mere 112 seconds into the game and has to sit out ten minutes of the first half.

Juwan Henry was held out tonight due to a lower body injury. He actually suited up for the game, sat in the stands in his uni to watch the end of the women's game, then went back into the locker room and returned to the floor in street clothes. With North Park due for the bye this coming Wednesday, not playing tonight will give him an extended recuperative period. It felt like a roll of the dice to sit him out, and, fortunately for Tom Slyder, the roll came up lucky seven.

Once Jordan Robinson went out of the game with that second foul less than two minutes in, the NPU faithful in the southeast corner of the Faganel bleachers let out a big, "Uh-oh." The Vikes did hold the 'jays at bay for awhile, as North Park managed to cling to the lead for the next five minutes. But then Caleb Mowry started clicking and the 'jays peeled off a 10-1 run to take control of the game. Elmhurst led by as many as ten on a couple occasions as the half wound down, but the Vikings fought to whittle it down to four by the half.

NPU and EC basically traded baskets for the first five minutes of the second half, but then the 'jays scored seven unanswered points to boost their lead back to ten at 51-41 with 12:24 to go. It definitely felt like gut-check time. Tom Slyder was scrambling for answers, as he'd opened up his bench and used just about every Viking there is aside from King Carl Gustaf and the two guys from ABBA at this point. Nothing was working. The offense was actually functioning quite well, but the Vikings simply couldn't hit an outside shot -- in spite of the fact that almost all of them were wide open. I can't remember the last time that I saw a team filled with good shooters scrape iron on so many open looks. Heck, they could've tied their shoelaces before attempting half of them ... but no dice. Meanwhile, Elmhurst wasn't pulling away at a rapid rate, but the 'jays were getting meaningful rebounds and the occasional trey, and they were getting it from multiple sources.

At this point, North Park really showed me something. The Vikings ramped it up to high gear at the defensive end -- notable because this has not been a good defensive team at all this season -- and clawed its way back into it via steals and transition buckets. NPU scored seven points in only 19 seconds and then chopped the lead down to one on a pair of Billy Kirby FTs. Elmhurst gathered itself and pushed the lead back out to 58-52 on a Derek Dotlich trey with six and a half minutes to go. But the Vikings had another surge in them, and this surge won the game. As badly as they shot from downtown all night, the Vikings managed to knock down a pair of open looks, one by Joe Biko and the other by Robinson, the snowball started rolling downhill, and suddenly it was a 16-0 run and there was only a half a minute left, and people were grabbing their coats. The ironic highlight of the game, given how badly the Vikes shot from beyond the arc (9-32, 28%) was a Kirby trey in which he fell backwards into the NPU bench with five left on the shot clock, which turned a five-point lead into an eight-point lead in the final minute and basically spelled finito for the Bluejays.

Kirby stepped up and played his best game yet as a Viking. Robinson fought through the foul trouble and made an awful lot of meaningful plays down the stretch. T.J. Cobbs was sensational on defense, and he and Colin Lake were the veteran glue that held the team together. Forget the superstars for a moment; it was a great team win.

A year from now, Elmhurst very well might win this game. The 'jays certainly have a talented freshman class that is capable of turning into the sort of sharks-smelling-blood kind of outfit that puts away a wounded opponent. But tonight they took one punch too many. They held off that first 9-0 NPU run, but when the second one got started you could see by the looks on their faces that they were mentally coming unglued. That's one of the downfalls of using so many frosh. John Baines can certainly hope, though, that this will be a painful lesson learned in the need to maintain poise in the face of repeated adversity.

Great win tonight for the Vikes, in a sigh-of-relief sort of sense. Of course, Augie's subsequent loss magnifies this win even more. North Park is going into February tied for first place in the CCIW, and that hasn't happened in a very, very long time.

[markerickson]

The difference in the AC and NPU schedules is that the latter travels to Bloomington and the former goes to Kenosha.  I am not presuming this is the only road to a top two finish in the overall conference.

[Titan Q]

The difference in the AC and NPU schedules is that the latter travels to Bloomington and the former goes to Kenosha.

The biggest factor in my opinion is that Augie travels to North Park...where NPU will be favored by 2-3 points.  And 2-0 over Augie would win a tie-breaker.

[Titan Q]

Whoa...

Tom Johnston @TJ_DA
Double blow for No. 16 @Augustana_Hoops. OT loss at Carthage and Pierson Wofford removed from team ``for remainder of academic year.''


The 6-4 sophomore G/F was Augie's super-sub, averaging 10.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg. He is no longer on the roster - http://www.athletics.augustana.edu/roster.aspx?path=mbball.

Big loss.