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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University hits the road again this week for a pair of tough Great Lakes Valley Conference games, beginning with a 9:15 p.m. Thursday contest at Drury in Springfield, Mo. NKU concludes the trip Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Rockhurst. Both games can be heard live on WIOK (107.5 FM) or on the Internet at www.nku.edu/~athletics. The Norse are 14-5 overall after posting an 85-60 win over Saint Joseph’s last Saturday night in the 2007 NKU Homecoming. NKU scored the first 11 points of the game, led by as many as 31 in the second half and completely dominated the court in front of an energetic Homecoming crowd of 1,572. NKU is tied with Indianapolis atop the GLVC East Division with a 7-4 record. NORSE SHOOTERS ON TARGET: NKU leads the GLVC in free-throw percentage at .766. The Norse also top the GLVC in 3-point shooting percentage at .403, having connected on 172-of-427 attempts from behind the arc. NO FREEBIES FOR THIS GUY: NKU senior guard Kevin Schappell is No. 3 nationally in the latest NCAA Division II statistics in free-throw percentage at .912. Schappell is 62-for-68 this season, and he made all 12 of his attempts last week as the Norse swept Indianapolis and Saint Joseph’s. Schappell averages 12.7 points per game, and he is shooting 54.1 percent from the field. THE HAWK STAYS NO. 1: NKU junior guard Mark Hawkins continues to lead the GLVC in 3-point shooting percentage at .548. The Finneytown High School graduate is 23-for-42 this season from 3-point range. WRIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: NKU senior guard Steven Wright leads NKU in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg) and steals (29). The Bowling Green State transfer has scored in double figures 15 times this season and netted at least 20 points in five games. CRIPE THROWS BLOCK PARTY: NKU senior center James Cripe blocked 11 shots during the two home wins last week. The 7-footer swatted away six shots during a 67-62 victory over Indianapolis, and he added another five rejections in an 85-60 win over Saint Joseph’s. A transfer from Dayton, Cripe averages 7.8 ppg and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field. DEFENDING THE HOME FLOOR: NKU is 11-1 in Regents Hall this season, and 3-4 on the road.
ABOUT DRURY: The Panthers are 12-7 overall, 5-6 in the GLVC. Drury is tied with Rockhurst for fourth place in the GLVC West. Collins Harris leads Drury in scoring at 17.3 ppg, and Brandon Kimbrough is scoring 11.6 ppg. Chris Ijames (10.7 ppg) and Steven Gum (10.3 ppg) round out the double-figure scorers for Drury, which is 7-2 at home. THE LAST TIME AGAINST DRURY: On Dec. 3, 2005, Kevin Schappell scored 24 points and added three steals as NKU posted a 64-46 win over Drury in Regents Hall. Schappell came off the bench and scored 16 points in the first half as NKU built a 37-18 lead. Schappell made a 3-point shot while being fouled with 10:11 remaining in the first half, and he converted the free throw to give the Norse a 12-9 lead. NKU led the remainder of the game. As a team, NKU used 21-for-24 shooting from the free-throw line to seal the win. THE LAST TIME AGAINST ROCKHURST: On Dec. 1, 2005, NKU allowed Rockhurst to shoot just 38.9 percent from the field and opened the second half with a 12-0 run that keyed the Norse’s 58-55 victory in Regents Hall. Kevin Schappell and Kevin Reinhardt each scored five points during the decisive 12-0 run for NKU. After Gavin Ludgood opened the second half with a dunk, Reinhardt drained a 3-pointer and added a layup to give NKU a 29-27 lead. Schappell made a 3-pointer and capped the spurt with a layup to extend the Norse advantage to 34-27. Schappell finished with 16 points, while Reinhardt added 15 points and seven rebounds. Ludgood finished with 12 points and five rebounds for the Norse, who shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half to rally for the win. Rockhurst tied the game at 41-all with 8:14 left on a jumper by Mike Day, but Ludgood responded with two consecutive dunks to give NKU a 45-41 lead. Ludgood’s second dunk came off a perfect pass from Billy Finnell to finish a fast break. Finnell hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining to give NKU a 48-44 lead, and he extended that advantage to 50-44 with a layup at the 1:27 mark. Reinhardt sealed the win by making two free throws with five seconds left to give NKU a 58-52 lead. Aaron Hill hit a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to bring Rockhurst within 58-55, but NKU inbounded the ball and time expired. |
