Harrison Morton drives by Chris Hill

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University freshman Harrison Morton looked like anything but a first-year player Wednesday night in the Remke Markets Campus Classic.

Morton scored a career-high 28 points as NKU posted a 106-83 win over Thomas More in Regents Hall. He netted 16 points in the first half and was named the Remke Markets Achiever of the Game for his performance as the Norse improved to 3-0.

The 6-foot-4 forward from Lexington Catholic High School was 8-for-9 from the field, and he finished 12-for-14 at the line. Morton also added six rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes of action, which included some time at the point.

“I really don’t like to play the point, but if that’s what we need me to do, that’s what I’ll do,” Morton said. “I’m just glad things were working well tonight.”

NKU shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half and built a 58-38 lead at the break. Derek Smith scored 12 of his career-best 17 points before halftime for the Norse.

NKU built a 71-44 lead with 15:20 remaining in the game, but Thomas More (1-2) would not go away. In particular, Garry Horton refused to miss from the outside, as he scored 17 of his 19 points - including four long-range three-pointers - in the second half to rally the Saints to within 89-78 with 3:49 left.

“It was a tough game tonight because it is a community battle between us and Thomas More, and they have a lot of quickness,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “They dictated the tempo of the game for a lot of the night but our kids hung in there, built an early lead, and we were fortunate enough to hold onto it.”

Morton scored eight points in the final 3:45 to help NKU hold off the Saints. Steve Purdon also hit a pair of three-pointers late in the game and finished with 15 points.

Kevin Reinhardt goes up for the dunk

Pat Cary added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the NKU attack. The Norse finished the game at 59.6 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 40-27 margin.

Thomas More attempted to rattle NKU with its tenacious full-court pressure in the first half, but the Norse sliced through the defense numerous times for transition baskets or wide-open looks from three-point range.

“We’re not the quickest team in the world, so a lot of people will try to press us and force an up-tempo game,” Purdon said, “but our point guards are heady enough that if we handle it like we did tonight it doesn’t matter what the other team does - we’ll come out fine.”

Kevin Reinhardt added eight points for NKU, which was 28-for-34 from the charity stripe. Jordan Stowers dished out six assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Norse.

NKU has now beaten Thomas More 19 consecutive times and holds a 28-5 lead in the all-time series with 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.

Chris Hill added 14 points for Thomas More, while R.K. Thurman finished with 13 points. The Saints shot 44.1 percent from the field and were 7-for-21 from three-point range.

NKU will begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play Friday with an 8:30 p.m. game at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Norse will also travel to Louisville, Ky., on Sunday for a 3:15 p.m. game at Bellarmine.