Jan. 29, 2001

NORSE HIT ROAD FOR UW-PARKSIDE

NKU ranked No. 3 nationally in latest poll

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team is 18-2 after defeating the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 78-66, Saturday afternoon. The Norse are 9-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and tied with Kentucky Wesleyan for second place in the GLVC standings. NKU is also ranked No. 3 nationally in the latest Division II poll. The Norse will play a pair of GLVC road games this week, starting with an 8:45 p.m. Thursday contest at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. NKU will conclude the road trip at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at Lewis University. Craig Sanders scored 18 points Saturday afternoon as NKU defeated Missouri-St. Louis. Todd Clark added 17 points and six rebounds, while Craig Conley recorded a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds). Conley now has 437 career assists, which is No. 3 in Norse history. He also has scored 1,307 career points, which ranks No. 12 in Norse history. Conley needs just four points to move past Greg Phelia (1,310 points) into 11th place in NKU history. He is just 23 points away from moving into the NKU all-time top 10 in scoring. THREE-POINT EFFICIENT: NKU leads the conference in three-pointers made per game, hitting an average of 9.05 (181 in 20 games). NKU is also No. 2 in three-point percentage, connecting on 40.8 percent of its shots. SANDERS ON TARGET: Craig Sanders averaged 17.5 points per game this past week as NKU swept road contests at Quincy and Missouri-St. Louis for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Sanders made seven three-point shots in the two games and leads NKU in that category with 64. Sanders, who leads NKU in scoring at 15.9 points per game, is also shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range. He enters this weekend with 1,179 career points, which ranks No. 16 in Norse history. Sanders has also scored in double figures during the past six games. TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL: NKU is averaging just 12 turnovers per game, and the Norse are forcing opponents into an average of 15 turnovers per contest. Last week during a 76-64 win at Quincy, NKU committed just seven turnovers. ABOUT UW-PARKSIDE: The Rangers are 7-10 overall after defeating Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, 63-55, last Saturday at Kenosha, Wis. Wisconsin-Parkside is 4-7 in the GLVC. Brian Coffman leads the Rangers in scoring at 18.1 ppg. Coffman also has made 48 of 121 three-point attempts and leads the Rangers in assists at 3.2 apg. Quincey Moman averages 13.1 ppg and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds per game. Moman is also shooting 46 percent from the field. THE LAST TIME AGAINST UW-PARKSIDE: Earlier this season on Dec. 2 at Highland Heights, Ky., Craig Conley scored 19 points and made all 10 of his free throw attempts as NKU defeated Wisconsin-Parkside, 83-71, in Regents Hall. Conley also had five assists and six rebounds for the Norse. Carl Mitchell added 16 points for the Norse. NKU leads the all-time series with Wisconsin-Parkside, 10-1, and the Norse are 4-1 all-time on the road against the Rangers. NKU’s only loss in the series against Wisconsin-Parkside came during the 1998-99 season, when the Rangers posted an 85-72 win over the Norse at Kenosha, Wis. THE SERIES WITH LEWIS: NKU owns a 17-15 advantage in the all-time series with Lewis. Earlier this season on Nov. 30 at Highland Heights, Ky., NKU rallied for a 95-87 win over the Flyers. Craig Sanders scored 21 points to lead NKU past Lewis in that game. Todd Clark added 15 points as NKU rallied from a 49-41 deficit early in the second half by scoring 12 unanswered points. Sanders keyed the spurt with five straight points. NKU won despite allowing Lewis to make 16 three-point shots. TOUGH ROAD GAME: NKU has not defeated Lewis in the Neil Carey Arena since the 1996-97 season, when the Norse posted a 69-63 win over the Flyers. Since that victory, NKU has dropped three straight on the road against Lewis.