Kevin Reinhardt (42) scored 15 points

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - At halftime Thursday night, Northern Kentucky University found itself trailing Rockhurst by five points in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener in Regents Hall.

NKU head coach Dave Bezold knew what his team needed to do in the second half if the Norse were to remain unbeaten.

“We talked about how we needed to have a solid performance - actually, a great performance - defensively, and hold (Rockhurst) under 40 percent (from the field),” Bezold said, “and we did that.”

NKU allowed Rockhurst to shoot just 33.3 percent from the field and opened the second half with a 12-0 run that keyed the Norse’s 58-55 victory. NKU improved to 4-0 overall, 1-0 in the GLVC.

Kevin Schappell and Kevin Reinhardt each scored five points during the decisive 12-0 run for NKU. After Gavin Ludgood opened the second half with a dunk, Reinhardt drained a 3-pointer and added a layup to give NKU a 29-27 lead.

Schappell made a 3-pointer and capped the spurt with a layup to extend the Norse advantage to 34-27.

Schappell finished with 16 points, and Reinhardt added 15 points and seven rebounds. Ludgood finished with 12 points and five rebounds for the Norse, who shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half to rally for the win.

“Balance means everything,” Bezold said. “It’s been consistently Reinhardt and Schappell, and to get another person up in double figures gives yourself a chance to win, especially when it was a low possession game.”

Rockhurst tied the game at 41-all with 8:14 left on a jumper by Mike Day, but Ludgood responded with two consecutive dunks to give NKU a 45-41 lead. Ludgood’s second dunk came off a perfect pass from Billy Finnell to finish a fast break.

Billy Finnell hits a 3-pointer Thursday

The 6-foot-8 senior center also had two blocked shots against Rockhurst.

“He can bring a lot of things to the floor for us,” Bezold said. “Our guys who went out and scouted Rockhurst felt like Gavin could be the difference in the game. He had a heck of a second half. His energy turned up and he played much better.”

Finnell hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining to give NKU a 48-44 lead, and he extended that advantage to 50-44 with a layup at the 1:27 mark. Reinhardt sealed the win by making two free throws with five seconds left to give NKU a 58-52 lead.

Aaron Hill hit a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to bring Rockhurst within 58-55, but NKU inbounded the ball and time expired.

Ludgood agreed that defense bailed out the Norse in the second half.

“We just thought we needed to play defense harder, and that is something we didn’t do in the first half,” he said. “We just switched up our defensive scheme and wanted to play more of a defensive game.”

Kevin Martin scored a game-high 21 points to lead Rockhurst, but NKU held him to just seven points in the second half.

“In the second half, we did a much better job on him,” Bezold said of Martin. “The thing is, there is going to be someone on the other team who scores a lot. We are very fortunate that their point guard, who I think is a heck of a player, (Joey) Deas, didn’t score. There’s the trade-off, so we were happy.”

NKU will play host to Drury at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

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