Billy Finnell averages 4.29 assists

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will play host to Bellarmine at 7:45 p.m. Saturday in the 2006 Homecoming.

NKU is 12-5 overall entering Saturday night and has won three consecutive games. The Norse are in second place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East with a 7-2 record.

NKU enters Saturday’s game ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll.

Bellarmine is 9-9 overall, 6-4 in the GLVC. The Knights defeated Indianapolis, 58-57, on Tuesday night.

The NKU/Bellarmine game will be televised live on ICN-6.

INSIDE-OUTSIDE DUO: Senior center Gavin Ludgood scored 10 of his team-leading 14 points in the first half as NKU posted a 71-66 win over Wisconsin-Parkside last Saturday. He also added eight rebounds and four blocked shots - including two key rejections in the final minute of play - as the Norse held off the Rangers in Regents Hall.

McFarland, a freshman guard, added a career-high 13 points - 10 in the second half - and five rebounds. McFarland also was 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

ON TARGET: NKU’s Kevin Schappell continues to lead the GLVC in 3-point shooting at 49.2 percent. The junior swingman is 30-for-61 from long range and averages a team-leading 12.8 points per game.

FLOOR GENERAL: NKU freshman point guard Billy Finnell is seventh in the GLVC with 4.29 assists per game. He also leads NKU with 20 steals and averages 7.9 ppg.

INSTANT OFFENSE: NKU sophomore forward Harrison Morton averaged 8.0 ppg off the bench in the Norse’s two victories last week. Morton poured in nine points to key NKU’s win over Wisconsin-Parkside last Saturday.

NKU’s Gavin Ludgood

WINNING WITH DEFENSE: NKU ranks second in the GLVC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 61.3 ppg. The Norse are fifth in field-goal percentage defense at 43.0 percent.

ABOUT BELLARMINE: The Knights are led by junior forward Matt Otte, who averages 14.7 ppg. Senior guard Matt Miller is scoring 12.7 ppg.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST BELLARMINE: On Jan. 13, 2005, Mike Kelsey poured in a game-high 21 points as NKU held off Bellarmine, 85-79, in Regents Hall.

Pat Cary finished with 17 points for NKU, which held off a late Bellarmine rally and avenged an early-season 64-60 setback to the Knights.

NKU built an 80-65 lead with 5:23 remaining, but Bellarmine followed with a 14-1 spurt to make it a game. After Marcus Flynn hit a short jumper to bring Bellarmine within 81-79 with 25 seconds left in the game, Kevin Reinhardt took a pass from Derek Smith and converted a layup to extend NKU’s lead to 83-79.

Kelsey sealed the victory for NKU by making a pair of free throws.

NKU shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half and finished at a 49.2 percent clip. Harrison Morton had nine points and six rebounds for the Norse, who have beaten Bellarmine 20 times in the past 21 meetings.

Earlier last season in Louisville, Ky., Bellarmine snapped a 19-game losing streak in the series against NKU with a 64-60 victory over the Norse. In a game that featured 20 lead changes and 11 ties, Marcus Flynn made two free throws to give Bellarmine a 61-60 advantage with 24 seconds remaining.

After an NKU timeout, Steve Purdon attempted a 3-pointer that hit the back of the rim and was chased down by Matt Miller. NKU’s Pat Cary was called for an intentional foul with 8.1 seconds remaining, and Miller made one of two free throws to extend Bellarmine’s lead to 62-60.

Matt Pait then sealed the win for Bellarmine by converting two free throws, and the Knights defeated NKU for the first time since Feb. 3, 1994.

KNIGHTS IN REGENTS HALL: Bellarmine’s last victory in Regents Hall came on Feb. 3, 1994, when the Knights pulled out a last-second 73-72 win over the Norse.

Since that loss, NKU owns 11 consecutive wins over Bellarmine in Regents Hall.