Harrison Morton goes to the basket

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Instant offense off the bench.

That’s what Northern Kentucky University has in Kevin Schappell and Mark Hawkins, a pair of shooters who can effectively launch 3-pointers with anyone. And when NKU needs a lift offensively, head coach Dave Bezold knows where to turn.

With his team trailing 12-2 early in the first half against Bellarmine on Saturday night, Bezold inserted Schappell and Hawkins into the game. They responded by combining for 24 points before halftime - including six 3-pointers - as NKU rallied to post a 75-63 win over Bellarmine.

Schappell finished with a game-high 23 points, while Hawkins finished with 12 points. Hawkins drained a trio of key 3-pointers to shift the momentum in the first half. Schappell used 6-for-7 shooting from the field during the opening 20 minutes to spark NKU before an enthusiastic Homecoming crowd of 1,408.

“We were really fortunate enough to have our bench come in and be very productive with Mark Hawkins, Kevin Schappell and Harrison Morton, and even Scottie Bibbins, to steady the ship after we were sinking early,” Bezold said. “They came in and hit some big shots, rallied us and got us the momentum that carried into halftime.”

NKU (13-5 overall, 8-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference) took a 33-29 lead into the break and started off the second half with an 11-4 run to extend its advantage to 44-33. Aaron Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers to key the spurt, while Bibbins also added a trey in the run.

The Norse led by as many as 14 points in the second half as Billy Finnell scored nine of his 15 points. Finnell, a freshman guard, also dished out four assists and grabbed five rebounds.

“(Billy) is so solid, and I just hope we don’t wear him out because he plays a ton of minutes,” Bezold said. “But hopefully, we don’t wear him out and he can continue to give us that consistent performance that he has been giving us.”

Morton finished with nine points and seven rebounds for NKU, which shot 51.1 percent from the field. The Norse were 11-for-23 from 3-point range and had 14 assists as a team, led by David McFarland’s five assists.

Kevin Schappell hits a 3-pointer

“Nobody has egos on this team, and that’s what’s good about this team. It’s not about stats. All we care about is winning,” Schappell said. “Coach (Bezold) told (Gavin Ludgood) he was going to have to have a better game next time. Gavin’s answer was, ‘I don’t care, coach. We won. That’s all that matters.’

“That’s just how this team’s attitude is. Nobody cares about stats, and that is why we always make the extra pass. We don’t care about scoring; we just care about winning.”

The victory enabled NKU to move into a first-place tie with Saint Joseph’s in the GLVC East Division. The Pumas suffered a 98-67 drubbing at Southern Indiana earlier on Saturday.

Matt Miller led Bellarmine (9-10 overall, 6-5 GLVC) with 20 points. Matt Otte added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Knights, who have lost 12 consecutive times in Regents Hall.

Bellarmine’s last victory in Regents Hall came on Feb. 3, 1994, when the Knights pulled out a last-second 73-72 win over the Norse.

“We knew going into this game that Bellarmine is one of the best teams at stopping the basketball,” Bezold said. “They weren’t going to let you drive to the hole. They collapse so hard to stop the ball. We knew we were going to have to stop, kick it back out and make shots.

“We were lucky that we got it going. Mark Hawkins, Kevin Schappell and Aaron Smith, our best shooters, were knocking them down.”

NKU will take its four-game winning streak on the road, with the first stop being at Southern Illinois at Edwardsville on Thursday night. SIUE enters that contest with an 11-game winning streak, and the Cougars have beaten NKU four straight times in the regular season.

NKU did knock off the Cougars in the GLVC Tournament last season at Evansville, Ind.

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