CHICAGO - The Trine University men's basketball team picked up their fourth road win in-a-row as they defeated North Park University 70-57. The win improves the Thunder to 5-2 on the season.

The Vikings would lead early on in the game at 5-4, but back-to-back layups by senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and freshman Nick Tatu (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) would give the Thunder a lead they would never relinquish. Late in the half, Jackson would slam home a dunk and convert on the ensuing free throw to give Trine a 33-21 lead with 2:23 remaining. North Park would cut the Thunder lead to eight at the half after making two layups in the final minute.

North Park would score the opening bucket of the second half to cut the Thunder lead to just six, but Trine would answer back with six straight points to push their lead back to double-digits. The teams would trade buckets over most of the second half until Trine scored another six consecutive points with 7:42 to play to take their largest lead of the game at that point, 55-41. The two sides would again trade points before Jackson again converted an and-one layup to put the Thunder up 68-51. With 2:48 to play, Jackson would then put an exclamation mark on the game as fellow senior Neil Smith (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) found him with a long in-bound pass as he threw the ball home with a one-handed dunk.

Jackson led all players with 31 points on 13-fo-25 shooting while also grabbing three steals. Freshman Tarvis Malone (Toledo, Ohio/St. Johns Jesuit) scored a career-best 14 points. Sophomore Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) dished out a game-high four assists while Smith also made a game-high four steals. Senior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and junior transfer Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) led the Thunder with four rebounds each.

Although the Thunder attempted a season-low seven three's, the team converted 29-of-55 (52.7%) from the floor, their second best performance of the season. Trine, the national leader as a team in fewest turnovers per game, committed just seven while forcing 16 Viking turnovers, turning them into 21 points.

The win marks the fourth straight victory for Trine over the Vikings and now lead the all-time series 4-1.

The Thunder will take the week off as they prepare for final exams before returning to action on December 14 for a 7:00 p.m. as they face NAIA Mount Vernon Nazarene.