Mike Kelsey

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will travel to the upper peninsula of Michigan this week to play games against Northern Michigan (7:30 p.m. Tuesday) and Michigan Tech (7 p.m. Thursday).

NKU enters the road trip with a 5-4 overall record after dropping a 65-59 decision to Southern Illinois at Edwardsville on Dec. 11. The Norse were scheduled to play host to the University of Cincinnati-Clermont last Wednesday, but a winter storm forced the game to be postponed until Jan. 11.

Northern Michigan, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is 4-5 overall entering Tuesday’s game. Michigan Tech, also a GLIAC member, is 6-2 overall and will play Minnesota-Duluth on Dec. 28 before facing NKU.

NORSE ATTEMPT TO HALT SKID: NKU, which started the season 4-0, has dropped four of its last five contests and owns a two-game losing streak. The Norse lost back-to-back games to Lewis and SIUE in their last two contests before the break.

KELSEY MOVES INTO 17TH PLACE: NKU senior guard Mike Kelsey is now 17th on the Norse all-time scoring list with 1,232 career points. He needs 36 points to move past Brian Lawhon (1,267 points) into 16th place on the list. Kelsey averages 11.3 points per game and has made a team-leading 14 three-point field goals this season.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN: Earlier this season on Nov. 20, Pat Cary scored 17 points and did not miss a shot as NKU eased past Northern Michigan, 73-62, in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic. Cary made all six of his attempts from the field and was 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

He also added four blocked shots and was named the Norse’s most outstanding player of the two-day event in Regents Hall. Kevin Reinhardt added 16 points, including 12 straight in the first half. The Norse shot 55.3 percent from the field for the game and held Northern Michigan to 41.8 percent from the floor to notch the victory.

Kelsey added 14 points for NKU, and Jordan Stowers added six assists for the Norse. NKU is 2-0 all-time against Northern Michigan.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN TECH: On Nov. 19 in the season opener, Harrison Morton scored the final five points of the game as NKU rallied for a 55-53 win over sixth-ranked Michigan Tech in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic. He finished with a team-leading 12 points, including a driving, off-balance scoop shot with 1.5 seconds remaining to give NKU a 55-53 lead.

With the score tied at 53-53, NKU called a timeout with 5.4 seconds left and inbounded the ball to Morton. He drove the middle of the lane, powered his way to the basket and scooped up an off-balance shot that cradled into the net with 1.5 seconds left.

It marked the first win for NKU head coach Dave Bezold. It was also the first meeting between NKU and Michigan Tech in men’s basketball.