Billy Finnell

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - As he has done so many times this season with the game in doubt, Billy Finnell lifted Northern Kentucky University to a victory Saturday with his last-minute heroics.

Finnell, a freshman point guard, scored five points in the final minute of the game as NKU pulled out a 72-66 win over Lewis in the Neil Carey Arena. The Norse improved to 17-10 overall, 12-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Finnell’s contested layup with 59 seconds remaining snapped a 65-all deadlock and gave NKU a 67-65 lead. After Pat Monaghan missed a 3-pointer on Lewis’ ensuing possession, Finnell rebounded the ball and ran the clock down under 15 seconds.

The freshman then sealed the win for NKU by taking the ball to the basket, drawing contact and making a layup while being fouled. He converted the free throw to give NKU a 70-65 lead with 11.6 seconds left in the game.

“Billy made really good decisions late by taking it hard to the basket, but he’s been doing that the entire season. He has made a lot of big plays with the game on the line,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “He did it twice in this game in the final minute. Last week at Kentucky Wesleyan, he also won the game for us with a shot in the final seconds.”

Finnell, a graduate of Purcell Marian, finished with nine points and a game-high eight assists. He also added four rebounds and two steals.

Senior center Gavin Ludgood led the Norse with 13 points and eight rebounds. Ludgood shot 6-for-9 from the field. Kevin Schappell and Travis Rasso each scored 11 points for the Norse, who shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half.

NKU took a 40-32 lead with 16 minutes left in the game on a basket by Mark Hawkins. Lewis (13-14 overall, 7-12 GLVC) rallied and gained a 47-46 advantage with 11:02 remaining on a conventional three-point play by Dustin Warfield.

NKU forged a five-point lead (60-55) on a 3-pointer by Vincent Humphrey with 5:32 remaining, but Lewis used a 7-2 run to even the score at 62-all on John Loeffelholz’s basket with 3:43 left on the clock. Enter Finnell, who finished off Lewis in the final minute and sent NKU to the GLVC Tournament on a winning note.

“Our guys showed a lot of composure after Lewis tied it late, and we needed this win to solidify our position for the NCAA Tournament,” Bezold said.

NKU will begin play at the GLVC Tournament Friday at 1 p.m. (Eastern) by facing Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. The Cougars - who had two chances at home this week to secure the No. 1 seed in the GLVC West Division, but lost consecutive games to Rockhurst and Drury - will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed from the GLVC West.

NKU is the No. 2 seed from the GLVC East. The NKU/SIUE winner will advance to the GLVC semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday and face the survivor of the Quincy/Wisconsin-Parkside game.

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