Feb. 22, 2000
NKU HITS ROAD FOR SIUE, USI
Norse (23-4) at SIUE on Thursday night
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team improved to 23-4 Saturday night with a 68-63 win against Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne in Regents Hall. NKU is now 15-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and tied with Southern Indiana for second place in the GLVC standings.
NKU is ranked No. 19 nationally in this week’s Division II Bulletin poll. The Norse will travel to play at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville this Thursday, and they will meet No. 13 Southern Indiana (20-4, 15-3 GLVC) Saturday night in Evansville, Ind.
If GLVC leader Kentucky Wesleyan (16-2 GLVC) loses on the road at either Lewis or Wisconsin-Parkside this week, NKU or Southern Indiana could tie or win the conference regular-season title and earn the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament.
Southern Indiana has beaten KWC twice this season and owns the tiebreaker with the Panthers. If NKU could defeat Southern Indiana for the second time this season, the Norse would own the tiebreaker with both KWC and USI because of the two victories against the Screaming Eagles.
PERFECT IN REGENTS: The Norse finished 14-0 at home this season, the first time the Norse have gone unbeaten in Regents Hall since posting a 13-0 record at home in 1994-95.
CONLEY JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB: NKU junior guard Craig Conley joined NKU’s 1,000-point club Saturday night during the Norse’s 68-63 victory against IPFW. At the moment, Conley ranks No. 19 on the NKU all-time scoring list with 1,006 points. Junior guard Brian Lawhon has 968 career points and is also closing in on 1,000 career points.
MARSTON LEADS NKU IN FINAL HOME GAME: Senior forward Scott Marston, playing in his final game in Regents Hall on Saturday, scored 21 points to lead NKU past IPFW. Marston connected on five three-pointers in that game.
GLVC LEADERS: NKU remains the GLVC’s top three-point shooting team at 39.3 percent. The Norse also lead the GLVC in both scoring defense (67.1 ppg) and three-point percentage defense (31.3 percent).
NCAA II TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS TO BE ANNOUNCED MARCH 5: Pairings for the NCAA Division II men’s basketball Tournament will be announced at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 5. Six teams from each of the nation's eight regions will receive berths to the 48-team field.
NKU is seeking to qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years. The Norse have been to the NCAA Tournament a total of five times (1978, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998) in the program’s 29-year history.
ABOUT SIUE: The Cougars are 9-15 overall after losing at Kentucky Wesleyan, 80-68, Saturday night in Owensboro, Ky. SIUE is 5-13 in the GLVC, and the Cougars have lost their last five games.
Guards Ryan Sexson and Ty Moss both average 13.1 ppg to lead the Cougars in scoring. Forward Dion Perkins averages 11.3 ppg, and center Travis Wallbaum averages 10.8 ppg. Wallbaum also leads SIUE in rebounding at 9.0 rpg.
THE FIRST TIME AGAINST SIUE: On Jan. 29 in Regents Hall, Adam Norwell scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds as NKU defeated SIUE, 88-71. Craig Conley added 16 points for the Norse, and Scott Marston scored 14 points.
NKU’S STREAK AGAINST SIUE: NKU owns nine consecutive victories against SIUE. The Norse have not lost to SIUE since the 1991-92 season, when the Cougars posted a 97-90 win against the Norse in Edwardsville, Ill.
Since joining the GLVC, SIUE has gone 0-8 against NKU. The Norse are 3-0 against SIUE in the Vadalabene Center since the Cougars joined the GLVC. NKU is 5-0 against SIUE in Regents Hall since the Cougars started play in the GLVC.