NKU’s Billy Finnell

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will close out its home schedule this week with a pair of games, beginning with a 7:45 p.m. Thursday contest against Indianapolis in Regents Hall.

NKU is 13-7 overall, 8-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Norse trail Saint Joseph’s by two games in the GLVC East standings. Indianapolis is 3-18 overall, 2-11 in the GLVC.

NKU will play its home finale at 3:15 p.m. Saturday when Saint Joseph’s visits Regents Hall. The Pumas are ranked No. 10 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll.

Both games this week will be televised live on ICN-6.

TOUGH LOSS: Jordan Roth scored five points in the final 1:38 of the game last Saturday as Quincy rallied for a 62-59 win over NKU in the Pepsi Arena. Roth - whose basket in the final seconds last season gave the Hawks a 75-74 victory over NKU - finished with a game-high 20 points and eight assists.

NKU rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half behind the scoring of Kevin Schappell and Kevin Reinhardt. The Norse held a 59-57 lead with 2:52 left after a basket by Billy Finnell, but those would be NKU’s final points.

HAWKS MAKE IT FOUR IN A ROW: Quincy has now defeated NKU four consecutive times. The Hawks knocked off the Norse in their second meeting during the 2003-04 season, and Quincy swept the two games a year ago. NKU still leads the all-time series with Quincy, 16-5.

NORSE IN REGENTS HALL: NKU is 10-1 this season in Regents Hall. NKU is 6-1 at home against GLVC opponents.

NKU’s Kevin Schappell

SCHAPPELL NO. 1 IN 3-POINTERS: NKU junior Kevin Schappell continues to lead the GLVC in 3-point percentage at .507. Schappell is 36-for-71 from long range this season. He also ranks 18th in the GLVC in scoring at 12.7 points per game. He has scored in double figures 12 times this season.

FINNELL WITH THE ASSIST: NKU freshman point guard Billy Finnell ranks No. 7 in the GLVC with 4.45 assists per game. Finnell also averages 8.5 ppg and 3.3 rebounds.

ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS: The Greyhounds are led by sophomore forward Justin Barnard, who averages 15.1 ppg. Jesse McClung is scoring 10.9 ppg, while Luke Blank averages 10.0 ppg.

EARLIER THIS SEASON AGAINST INDY: On Dec. 6, Harrison Morton came off the bench and scored eight key points in the second half for NKU, and Billy Finnell drained a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute to seal the Norse’s 67-61 win at Indianapolis.

Kevin Schappell added nine points off the bench for the Norse, whose bench totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Kevin Reinhardt finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead NKU, while Vincent Humphrey added 14 points. The Norse shot 52.2 percent from the field - including 66.7 percent in the second half - to hold off the Greyhounds.

EARLIER THIS SEASON AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH’S: On Dec. 8, at Rensselaer, Ind., a power outage in the Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse caused the game between NKU and Saint Joseph’s to be suspended late in the second half.

Saint Joseph’s owned a 57-40 lead with 6:30 remaining in the game when the power went out in the gym. The Pumas entered the game ranked No. 8 nationally with a 7-0 record, while NKU was also unbeaten (6-0) at the time.

The game will be resumed at the point of stoppage on Feb. 22 with Saint Joseph’s holding a 57-40 lead.

LAST SEASON IN REGENTS HALL AGAINST THE PUMAS: On Jan. 20, 2005, Saint Joseph’s finished with a 24-6 edge in points off turnovers and coasted to a 75-62 win over NKU in Regents Hall.

The Norse committed 20 turnovers - 12 before halftime - and were unable to overcome a 22-point deficit in the second half. Sullivan Sykes and Derek Fey combined for 33 points to lead Saint Joseph’s.

Sykes finished with 17 points for the Pumas, while Fey added 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Devin Thomas scored 13 points off the bench for Saint Joseph’s, which avenged an early-season 90-77 loss to NKU.

The Pumas built an 11-point halftime lead, extended that to 22 points (46-24) early in the second half and held on to post their first win in Regents Hall since a 101-82 victory over the Norse on Feb. 8, 2001.