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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - After taking a week off for final exams, Northern Kentucky University resumes play next Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. with a road game at nationally ranked Findlay. The game can be heard live on WIOK (107.5 FM) and on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. NKU is 5-2 overall after posting an 89-51 win over Tiffin on Dec. 5 in Regents Hall. The Norse will enter Tuesday’s game having not played in exactly two weeks. Findlay is currently 7-1 and ranked No. 9 nationally in the latest NCAA Division II poll. The Oilers meet Michigan Tech on Saturday in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown before playing host to NKU. NORSE FACE BIG ODDS: Findlay is riding a 44-game home winning streak - the nation’s longest in NCAA Division II men’s basketball. The Oilers own 23 consecutive non-conference wins at home. Findlay has not lost to a non-conference team since Dec. 28, 1997, when St. Francis (Ill.) posted a 77-69 win over the Oilers in Croy Gymnasium. RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE: After scoring just two points during the opening seven minutes of play against Tiffin, NKU turned to its outside shooters, and the long-range bombers more than obliged. The Norse tied a school record by draining 18 3-point field goals. NKU also made 18 3-pointers on Dec. 16, 1991, during a 126-120 overtime win at Oakland City (Ind.). The Norse made nine 3-pointers in each half and rolled to the non-conference win over Tiffin. NKU connected on 54.5 percent (18-for-33) of its 3-point attempts. Kevin Schappell drained a 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining for the Norse's 16th trey. Mark Hawkins then hit another trey with 57 seconds left to make it 17 3-pointers, and the junior guard from Finneytown High School tied the NKU record with 34 ticks remaining when he found the bottom of the net with another 3-pointer. MORTON NO. 1: NKU junior forward Harrison Morton is No. 1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in field-goal percentage at .686. Morton also averages 10.6 points per game and is 7-for-10 from 3-point range. ALL-AROUND GAME: NKU senior guard Steven Wright ranks No. 6 in the GLVC in scoring (16.7 ppg), 13th in field-goal percentage (.565) and 14th in free-throw percentage (.784). The graduate of Colonel White High School in Dayton, Ohio, also leads NKU in rebounding (5.1 rebounds per game) and is tied for second on the team in both 3-pointers made (10) and steals (9).
NORSE FROM DOWNTOWN: NKU ranks No. 1 in the GLVC in 3-pointers made per game 9.00. The Norse have connected on 63 treys in seven games. Mark Hawkins leads the team with 11 field goals from 3-point range. JEFFERSON DECLARED ACADEMICALLY INELIGIBLE: NKU freshman forward David Jefferson has been declared academically ineligible for the second semester. Jefferson played in four games and started three times, averaging 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds. ABOUT FINDLAY: The Oilers feature senior forward Frank Phillips, a graduate of Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati who averages 15.5 ppg. Phillips is also shooting 64.6 percent from the field and has 29 assists. Three other Oilers - Dorian Bass (12.5 ppg), Josh Bostic (11.3 ppg) and Marcus Parker (10.8 ppg) - also score in double figures. Findlay center Brent Schnipke averages 9.5 ppg and has made 50 percent of his shots from the field. THE LAST TIME AGAINST FINDLAY: On Nov. 18, 2005, a huge second-half run carried NKU to an 81-71 upset over sixth-ranked Findlay in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Regents Hall. The Norse used the scoring of Vincent Humphrey and Kevin Schappell to fuel the rally, which featured a 21-3 run that turned a 52-42 deficit into a 63-55 advantage with 6:34 remaining. Humphrey netted 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. Schappell scored all 14 of his points in the second half, including a pair clutch 3-pointers during the Norse’s decisive run. He also grabbed five rebounds and made all four free throws he attempted. Billy Finnell scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half to key the NKU comeback. The Purcell Marian graduate drilled a pair of 3-point shots and finished with five assists. |
