CHICAGO, IL (January 12, 2003) - In some sports, the difference between winning and losing can be measured in a matter of inches.

For the North Park University (NPU) men's basketball team, the difference between winning and losing was exactly 15 feet - the distance from the free throw line to the basket. On Saturday, the Vikings lost their second straight game to open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play, dropping a 73-70 contest to visiting Elmhurst College after making just three of seven foul shots in the closing moments while blowing an eight-point lead.

While NPU struggled from the foul line late in the game, Elmhurst thrived, hitting 11 straight free throws at one point during the final 6:43 in its CCIW opener. The Bluejays evened their record at 6-6 as Wayne Bosworth led all scorers with 19 points while NPU fell to 9-3 despite 18 points by Lamar Townsend and 14 by Sneed Deaderick

After Elmhurst scored seven straight points to take a 50-49 edge midway through the second half, NPU scored eight consecutive points in a 2:01 span to lead 57-50 after two Townsend foul shots with 8:43 left. The Vikings led 61-53 with 5:46 remaining after a Deaderick three-point basket before the Bluejays got a three-point field goal and a lay-up from Bosworth to tie the game at 64-all.

With 2:07 left, Irving Richardson made one of two foul shots to put NPU ahead for its final time, 65-64. From there, Elmhurst reserve Adam Ackerman starred, putting his team ahead with a fade-away jump shot and adding two foul shots and another field goal within a 49-second span. Ryan Voss ended Elmhurst's 8-0 spurt with two more free throws and NPU's Jimmy Mack missed a three-point shot that would have tied the game in the final seconds as NPU tried in vain to make a final comeback.

NPU entered Saturday's game shooting 62 percent from the foul line - the worst record in the conference. The Vikings dropped their CCIW opener last Wednesday (76-69 to Millikin University) at least partly due to their 8-of-22 foul shooting. The free throw shooting woes of late seem to have erased the positive memories of a 9-1 start, NPU's best since 1980.