HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play at 3:15 p.m. this Saturday with a home game against Quincy University.
NKU, now 3-0 after posting a 79-58 win over Thomas More College on Wednesday, will also play host to the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 7:45 p.m. Monday in Regents Hall.
The NKU radio broadcasts of those games can be heard live on WTSJ (AM 1050).
Brenden Stowers scored 15 points and had five steals Wednesday night to lead NKU past Thomas More at the Connor Convocation Center. Bobby St-Preux added 14 points and five rebounds.
The Norse made 54.7 percent of their field goal attempts and led by as many as 30 points in the second half before coasting to the victory. Quentin Smith came off the bench and scored 13 points for NKU, while Jesse Rupe finished with 12 points. Mike Kelsey added 11 points for NKU, which limited Thomas More to 37.3 percent shooting from the field.
NKU upped its lead in the all-time series with Thomas More to 26-5, and the Norse own 17 consecutive victories over the Saints. NKU has not lost to Thomas More since the 1980-81 season, when the Saints defeated the Norse by a 61-52 score in Regents Hall.
IMPRESSIVE BEGINNING FOR STOWERS: Senior guard Brenden Stowers averages 14.0 points per game, and he leads NKU in three-point percentage (.571), free throw percentage (.762), assists (3.67 apg) and steals (3.33 spg).
Stowers, who has come off the bench in each game, is also shooting 57.9 percent from the field and averages 3.7 rebounds per contest. He earned All-Tournament honors for the Norse during the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic last weekend.
“Q” MAKES MAJOR IMPACT: NKU senior forward Quentin Smith averages 11.7 ppg and 6.7 rebounds per contest. He has also made 58.3 percent of his shots from the field and has five assists.
Smith has also come off the bench in the first three games, and he has combined with Stowers to provide the Norse with an average of 25.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest. He also earned All-Tournament honors during the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic last weekend.
NO EASY SHOTS: NKU is limiting the opposition to just 36.9 percent shooting from the field. NKU held Findlay to 36.2 percent from the field in the season opener, and the Norse limited Kentucky State to just 37.3 percent shooting in the championship game of the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic. On Wednesday night, Thomas More managed to convert just 37.3 percent of its shots from the field.
The Norse, meanwhile, have made 54.8 percent of their shots from the field.
LONG-RANGE BOMBER: NKU sophomore guard Mike Kelsey, who was named GLVC co-Player of the Week last Monday, has connected on 12 of 22 (.545) three-point attempts this season. Kelsey leads NKU in scoring at 15.0 ppg, and he was named most valuable player during the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic last weekend.
ABOUT QUINCY: The Hawks, who posted a 7-19 overall record last season, began the 2002-03 campaign with a 77-66 victory over Missouri Southern State College on Tuesday night. Quincy finished with a 4-16 GLVC record a year ago and did not qualify for the GLVC Tournament.
The Hawks feature senior center Brian McNeil, who averages 13.0 ppg and six rebounds per contest. McNeil, a preseason Division II All-American candidate, is also shooting 75 percent from the field. Junior point guard Jamal Thompson is scoring 12.0 ppg and averages 5.0 rpg.
Sophomore forward Cory Cummens scored 10 points in the opener against Missouri Southern, and senior guard Jon Barth also finished with 10 points for the Hawks.
A YEAR AGO AGAINST QUINCY: NKU won twice last season, but both games were decided in the final seconds of regulation. In the first meeting at Quincy, Ill., on Jan. 3, Brenden Stowers’ stick-back basket with two seconds remaining gave NKU a 76-74 win over Quincy at the Pepsi Arena.
With the score tied at 74-74 and the clock winding down, NKU's Bobby St-Preux drove the lane and missed. Stowers, however, grabbed the offensive rebound and made a twisting shot while falling down to give the Norse a 76-74 lead. Quincy had one final chance, but Stowers stole the long inbound pass.
NKU trailed by seven points midway through the second half in that game, but Craig Sanders hit a pair of key three-pointers to bring the Norse within 64-62 with 8:20 remaining. The Norse eventually forged a 70-67 lead on Carl Mitchell's four-point play with 5:40 left. Mitchell was fouled while making a three-pointer, and he converted the free throw for the four-point play.
On Feb. 23, in the rematch at Highland Heights, Ky., NKU rallied from a four-point deficit (71-67) in the final three minutes to post a 79-75 win over the Hawks. Sanders scored 22 points to lead NKU, while Mitchell added 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Kelsey keyed NKU's game-ending 12-4 run with five points.
A layup by Brenden Stowers with 2:17 remaining gave NKU a 74-73 lead. The Norse still held a 74-73 advantage with 14 seconds left when Sanders drilled a three-point shot to extend the lead to 77-73. Jackson Jones converted a layup with four seconds to slice the NKU advantage to 77-75, but Sanders sealed the win by making two free throws.
NKU holds a 13-1 lead in the all-time series with Quincy, and the Norse are unbeaten (6-0) in Regents Hall against the Hawks.
Brenden Stowers