Mike Kelsey led NKU with 14 points

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Randy Holbrook and Carl Richburg combined for 39 points as Southern Indiana posted a 79-49 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Sunday to capture the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship in Roberts Stadium.

Holbrook finished with 23 points and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player for Southern Indiana (26-4), which is ranked No. 4 nationally in the Division II poll. Richburg added 16 points, four assists and three steals for the Screaming Eagles, who have won 16 straight games.

Southern Indiana held NKU to one field goal during the first 11 minutes of the first half and built a 19-7 lead on two free throws by Cris Brunson. The Screaming Eagles limited NKU to 27.3 percent shooting from the field in the first half and took a 37-19 lead at the break.

In the second half, Southern Indiana used a 26-10 run to build a 65-35 lead when Holbrook drained a 3-pointer with 8:43 remaining in the game. The Screaming Eagles led by as many as 34 points and finished 7-for-10 from three-point range.

Chris Thompson and Reque Newsome each added nine points for Southern Indiana, which defeated NKU for the third time this season. The Screaming Eagles, who shot 59.2 percent from the field, also earned the GLVC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

“Southern Indiana is a great basketball team, and it seemed like they hit every shot they took,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said.

Senior guard Mike Kelsey led NKU with 14 points and finished his career seventh on the Norse’s all time scoring list with 1,595 career points. Kelsey also was named to the all-tournament team.

Derek Smith added nine points and five rebounds for NKU, and teammate Kevin Reinhardt finished with seven points.

The sixth-seeded Norse (14-15) had upset both Indianapolis and Southern Illinois at Edwardsville to reach the championship game for the second time in three years. Two years ago, NKU won the GLVC championship by defeating Lewis in the title game.

“Our guys made a great run to get to the championship game, and I’m proud of the way they played down here,” Bezold said. “We just ran into a great team playing at its best, so give Southern Indiana a lot of credit.”