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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - He continues to make the spectacular seem routine, and that in itself says it all about Northern Kentucky University's Steven Wright. The 6-foot-3 senior guard's gravity-defying, welcome-to-your-posterization dunks have become a treat that the Regents Hall crowds expect each game. Forget the fact Wright scores, rebounds, handles the ball and plays great defense, too. He also hits big shots and has made NKU a better team this season after transferring from Division I Bowling Green State, where he scored more than 700 career points for the Falcons. Wright's latest performance, a 20-point, four-rebound, three-steals effort, led NKU to a 68-53 win over Missouri-St. Louis in Regents Hall on Saturday. The Norse extended their winning streak to four with the victory and improved to 11-4 overall, 4-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. NKU head coach Dave Bezold appreciates the crowd-pleasing moments as much as anyone, but he is a bigger fan of Wright's consistent play. "Steve was struggling early, but then he made big plays for us and kept us there. He kept scoring so we didn’t go on any extended droughts," Bezold said of Wright, who netted 14 points in the first half to keep NKU in the lead. "He's one of those special players who wants to win so badly. I knew he would make our fans happy because he's such a great athlete and tremendous leaper. But Steven Wright is a big-time winner who does what it takes for us to be successful." That's not to say Wright didn't give the crowd its dose of excitement Saturday afternoon. He soared in for two dunks - one that counted, and one that was waved off - in the first half. The second one - a two-handed, rim-rattling jam coming from the left side off the dribble - counted and sent two Missouri-St. Louis defenders scurrying to get out of the way as Wright's lift-off commenced. Two others watched helplessly and joined Wright's 2006-07 posterization collection. Wright later added an eye-popping block of a Brett Ledbetter driving layup attempt, a rejection that had the Norse defender's hand well above the rim. This was the same Brett Ledbetter who entered the week as the GLVC's top scorer at more than 17 points per game.
Wright, as usual, praised his teammates for their efforts and refused to take any credit. He and teammate Kevin Schappell combined for 36 of the Norse's 68 points, and Wright pointed to the reason. "It's just getting in the gym and working. We’re always in the gym together shooting," said Wright, the former Dayton Colonel White High School standout. "We practice, get a lot of shots off, and it’s paying off." Schappell scored 10 straight points for NKU during one stretch in the second half as his team extended its lead to 64-47. The senior from Loveland High School drained a trio of 3-point shots Saturday and extended his consecutive free-throws made streak to 16 over the past two games by hitting all five of his attempts from the line. Schappell, as always, was already looking forward to NKU's next game. "It was big for us to win two conference games at home and three in a row this week," he said. "We go on the road and have a big weekend coming up at Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Indiana. With a Saint Joseph's loss we’ll be in first place (in the GLVC East Division), so this was a huge win today." Schappell's wish was granted, as Rockhurst knocked off Saint Joseph's on Saturday to elevate NKU into a four-way tie atop the GLVC East standings. NKU dominated the rebounding and finished with a 30-17 edge on the boards. Billy Finnell, a Purcell Marian graduate, led NKU with seven rebounds and added eight points and two steals. "Last week in practice, coach got all over us about rebounding," Schappell said. "He wrote on the board how many rebounds every player averaged, so everybody made sure they stepped it up this week when it came to getting rebounds." James Cripe
scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds for NKU, which is 15-5
in the all-time series with Missouri-St. Louis. David Ward led the
Rivermen (5-9, 1-6 GLVC) with 12 points. |
