Steve Purdon

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Steve Purdon's driving layup with 3.7 seconds left in the game lifted Northern Kentucky University to a 52-51 upset over Indianapolis in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday.
 
Indianapolis (20-8) held a 51-50 lead with 17.3 seconds remaining, but the Greyhounds' David Logan missed the front end of the bonus and NKU rebounded. Purdon took a pass on the left side, drove to the basket and converted a layup with 3.7 seconds left to give NKU a 52-51 lead.

“The play was drawn up so that I was kind of the decoy to pull the defense to one side,” Purdon said. “Walt (Mike Kelsey) was going to come off a double screen at the top of the key.  Our men had been switching all night and I got wide open because of a miscommunication and they both followed Walt which left me open. 

“When Sean (Rowland) threw me the ball, I did have an open look for the three but we were only down one.  (Lawrence) Barnes had been blocking a lot of shots from coming out of the lane.  Kelsey and I talked about it and we thought that if he came out we were going to pump fake and drive to the basket.  That’s what happened, and I drove to the basket.” 
 
Mickey McGill attempted a 25-footer at the buzzer, but the shot hit the rim and bounced to the floor. NKU (13-14) rallied from a 51-46 deficit in the final 44 seconds and avenged two regular-season losses to Indianapolis.
 
After Logan made two free throws to give Indianapolis a 51-46 lead with 44 seconds left, Pat Cary drew a foul and made both free throws to bring NKU within 51-48 with 31 seconds remaining. NKU forced a five-seconds call on the ensuing inbound play, and Mike Kelsey hit a driving layup with 20 seconds left to cut the Indianapolis lead to 51-50.
 
NKU fouled Logan with 17.3 seconds left, and his missed free throw set up Purdon's winning shot.
“We had a play called there and we said if it breaks down to understand the game situation.  If we were down one or two, to take it to the hole and see if we could create something,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “If we were down three, we would obviously have to take a three.  He took the ball in and we were fortunate enough that he got a layup.” 
 
Cary led NKU with 20 points and eight rebounds. The sixth-seeded Norse shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half to pull off the upset of third-seeded Indianapolis.
 
Logan led Indianapolis with 24 points, and Lawrence Barnes added 17 points. Logan, however, had averaged 33.8 points per game against NKU during the past two years, and he poured in 42 points in a win over the Norse on Feb. 12.
 
Logan entered Thursday averaging a GLVC-leading 29.0 ppg.
“We tried to slow him down.  We stopped him and he still scored 24 points," Bezold said. "The only way we could be successful is if the offense was methodical, slow and patient, and it prevented Indianapolis from having so many possessions which their offense feeds on.”
 
Kevin Reinhardt added nine points for NKU, and Kelsey finished with seven points. NKU is now 3-0 all-time against Indianapolis in GLVC Tournament play.
 
NKU will meet second-seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 1 p.m. Saturday in the GLVC semifinals. SIUE defeated Wisconsin-Parkside in the first round Thursday.
 
SIUE swept NKU in the regular season, and the Cougars have beaten the Norse four straight times during the past two years.