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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A night before Christmas Eve, Northern Kentucky University celebrated the holiday in style against the UC-Clermont basketball team. And the Norse were in a giving mood Saturday evening in Regents Hall. First and foremost, NKU gave visiting UC-Clermont a 94-58 beating, and the Norse rewarded their fans with plenty of Christmas cheer along the way. Included on the NKU gift list Saturday night was: •A Steven Wright highlight reel, complete with a couple of vicious first-half dunks. Wright finished with 17 points, seven assists, four rebounds, two steals and no turnovers in 23 minutes of action. •A shooting exhibition from Kevin Schappell, who drained four 3-point shots en route to a game-high 18 points. Schappell also grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds, including five offensive boards. •Another solid performance from Vincent Humphrey, who scored 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Humphrey also hit four 3-pointers as the Norse shot 15-for-36 from long range. •A much-needed victory following a loss at No. 9 Findlay last Tuesday night. NKU held a double-digit lead in that game in the second half, but the Norse fell victim to the Oilers' home mystique (45 consecutive victories) and ability to get to the free-throw line. "This win is important because you just want to get back on the floor and win some games," NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. "It was a good pick-me-up, but, again, we don’t want to have to do this every other game. We want to string together some victories now, and we have to do it on the road." NKU (6-3) bolted out to a 14-2 lead against UC-Clermont as Humphrey and Wright each scored five points in the first four minutes of the game. Wright later took a bounce pass on the right baseline from Harrison Morton and soared in for a two-handed dunk to make it 21-5. Schappell netted 16 points before halftime as the Norse took a 48-27 lead at the break. The only suspense remaining in the second half was if NKU - 9-for-19 from 3-point range during the opening 20 minutes - would be able to break the school record for treys (18) in a game. "We had open shots because our guards penetrated and kicked it out," said Schappell, who was 4-for-8 from long range. "Then they went to a zone and we were finding the open man."
NKU finished with 23 assists as a team, and the extra pass usually meant a wide-open look at the basket. "That’s another thing that shows that everyone was sharing the ball, and it’s a team game," said NKU's Mark Hawkins, who finished with 13 points. "Nobody was trying to do too much." James Cripe added eight points and six rebounds for NKU, which is 2-0 all-time against UC-Clermont (9-8). Harrison Morton and Anthony Teague each scored seven points, and David McFarland scored six points. Billy Finnell dished out four assists for NKU, which shot 50.7 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 45-33 margin. "Each day in practice we battle and fight until the ball goes out of bounds," Schappell said of NKU's tenacity on the glass. "Tonight you saw Harrison Morton diving out of bounds for a rebound. Everybody does that and it just carries over from practice into the games." Schappell has now scored 34 points during the past two games, and Bezold is pleased to see his senior guard find his shot. "He’s starting to, like all of our players, find a role and get into the rhythm of the season," Bezold said of Schappell. "He’s going to finish the year off being very consistent, and that’s what we’re looking forward to. Kevin is a fifth-year guy, and he knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s a kid that works extremely hard, and the results are starting to come for him." Stefan Dunn scored 17 points to lead UC-Clermont, which was the national runner-up in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association last season. The Cougars, however, shot just 32.8 percent from the field and were 12-for-21 at the free-throw line against NKU. "We try not to look at the scoreboard, but obviously you have to in order to see if you won or lost," Bezold said, "but we were working on making sure we were solid on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. That’s what cost us two critical games against good teams. We’ve had spurts where we’ve been very good and very bad. We were just working on our consistency tonight. I was happy about that part of this win." NKU will take off for Christmas and then hit the road for Florence, Ala., and a non-conference battle at North Alabama on Dec. 30. The Norse then resume Great Lakes Valley Conference play Jan. 4 with a road game at Wisconsin-Parkside. Two days later, NKU will play at Lewis. NKU's next home game is Jan. 9, when Kentucky Christian visits Regents Hall for a non-conference game. |
