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EVANSVILLE, Ind. - During the past 26 years, Southern Indiana has won 87 percent of its home games. That made Northern Kentucky University's road contest against Southern Indiana a mammoth task on Saturday afternoon. Rashard Sullivan didn't help matters, either. Sullivan hit his first six shots from the field and finished with 19 points as Southern Indiana coasted to an 83-71 victory over NKU before a crowd of 2,400 in the PAC Arena. The 10th-ranked Screaming Eagles, now 11-0 at home this season, improved to 18-2 overall, 7-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. NKU, which had its five-game winning streak snapped, is 12-5 overall, 5-4 in the GLVC. NKU's last win over Southern Indiana in the PAC Arena was a 99-87 victory in the 1996 NCAA II Great Lakes Region championship game. If Sullivan performs the way he did during the first half, Southern Indiana may not lose at home this season. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound center netted 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field before halftime as the Screaming Eagles built a 48-33 lead. Sullivan capped the first half with a monstrous dunk off an assist from Marty Wise with just three seconds remaining. Southern Indiana shot 74.1 percent from the field during the first half, converting 20 field goals in 27 attempts. That statistic did not please NKU head coach Dave Bezold. "Our point of emphasis defensively was to get back in transition, and they shoot 74 percent in the first half with a ton of transition points," Bezold said. "We struggled defending the post area in the first half. We switched to a smaller lineup, and they did a nice job on their big people and we were able to get back into the game." After falling behind 57-39 with 15:22 left in the game, NKU rallied behind the play of Harrison Morton. The junior forward scored five straight points for the Norse to keep his team in the game. Morton finished with 13 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field. He also grabbed three rebounds and added a steal in 22 minutes of action. Sullivan powered in for a basket with 10:24 remaining to give Southern Indiana a 69-53 lead, but NKU ran off seven straight points to pull within nine (69-60). Vincent Humphrey and Steven Wright each scored baskets, and Anthony Teague drained a 3-pointer to cap the spurt. Kenny Love stopped the run by hitting a pair of free throws, but Wright connected on a 3-pointer to bring NKU with 71-63 with 5:13 left. That would be as close as the Norse would get the rest of the way. "We had some wide-open shots late in the game, but we couldn't get one to drop," Bezold said. "Even though we dug ourselves a big hole in the first half, we fought back and were right there. I thought our guys battled hard, but the shots just weren't going in." Billy Finnell led NKU with 15 points, and Wright scored 14. Wright, a senior guard in his first year with the Norse after playing three seasons at Bowling Green State, also netted his 1,000th career point in the first half when he connected on a 3-point field goal. NKU shot 41.3 percent from the field, compared to 62.5 percent for Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles won the rebounding battle by a 38-24 margin. Wise pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for Southern Indiana, and Sullivan grabbed eight boards. Kenny Page scored 15 points for Southern Indiana, and Nick Brooks added 13 off the bench. Melvin Hall finished with 10 points to give the Screaming Eagles five players in double figures. NKU will play host to Indianapolis at 7:45 p.m. Thursday in Regents Hall. Indianapolis enters that game atop the GLVC East Division standings with a 6-3 record after defeating Southern Illinois at Edwardsville on Saturday. NKU, which entered Saturday tied for first place in the GLVC East, is now tied for third place. The Norse will also play host to Saint Joseph's - in second place in the GLVC East with a 5-3 record - next Saturday at 7:45 p.m. |
