Scott Bibbins (left) goes for a steal

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A month ago, Dave Bezold said Southern Illinois at Edwardsville was the quickest team that Northern Kentucky University had faced this season.

That came after the second-year NKU head coach watched SIUE post a 68-59 win over his Norse on Feb. 2 at Edwardsville, Ill.

The Cougars displayed that same quickness and speed during a 78-74 win over NKU in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Friday. SIUE used its lightning-quick perimeter players to shoot 57.4 percent from the field, and the Cougars held off a late NKU rally to advance to the GLVC semifinals.

“We kept battling back, but they just shot it so well. We had to go small because of their quickness, and they really attacked the basket well,” Bezold said. “We felt like we made them take some tough shots, but they did a great job of making plays.

“The fact they shot 57 percent from the field and we still had a chance to win says a lot. On a normal night, we win this game, but SIUE played well and we came up a bit short.”

Harrison Morton scored 26 points to keep NKU (17-11) close. The sophomore forward from Lexington, Ky., drained five 3-point shots and finished 9-for-15 from the field.

“He knows it’s tournament time, and Harrison is a fierce competitor,” Bezold said. “Without him, we had no chance to win. Harrison was outstanding, and he’s a young player who is just going to get better.”

SIUE (22-6) shot 60 percent from the field in the first half to take a 36-27 advantage at the break. Morton scored 15 in the opening half for the Norse, who shot just 37.5 percent from the field before intermission.

SIUE extended its lead to 48-34 with 14:32 remaining in the game, but NKU countered with a 20-8 run to pull within 56-54 on a conventional three-point play by Kevin Reinhardt. The Norse later made it a one-point game (64-63) when Reinhardt hit a 3-point shot with 4:21 left.

J.B. Jones, however, countered with a 17-foot jumper to extend the SIUE advantage to 66-63, and Anthony Jones finished off a fast break with a layup to make it 68-63 with 3:32 remaining. The Cougars appeared to have sealed the win with 21 seconds left when J.B. Jones converted a pair of free throws for a 74-67 lead, but NKU would rally one last time.

Reinhardt made a 3-pointer while being fouled with 16.7 seconds remaining, and he added the free throw to bring NKU within 74-71. J.B. Jones responded by sinking two more free throws with 14 seconds left to make it 76-71, but Morton drained a long 3-pointer from the left corner with 8.1 seconds on the clock to slice the deficit to 76-74.

J.B. Jones was fouled with 5.8 seconds left, and the sophomore guard calmly sealed the win by making both free throws. Jones set a GLVC Tournament record by going 13-for-13 from the line, and he scored a team-leading 21 points.

Ty Johnson added 16 points for SIUE, which lost to NKU in the GLVC Tournament semifinals last season. Justin Ward added 14 off the bench.

Reinhardt scored 23 points, and Scott Bibbins finished with 11 points off the bench. Bibbins made all four of his attempts from the field.

“Bibbins gave us some energy and spark, and I’m proud of the way our entire team battled back,” Bezold said.

NKU, ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region poll, will find out Sunday at 10:30 p.m. if it receives an at-large berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

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