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FLORENCE, Ala. - Anthony Teague arrived at Northern Kentucky University bearing the reputation of a long-range shooter who can score a lot of points in a short period of time. On Saturday, the 6-foot-5 senior did just that during a critical stage in the second half with his team trailing North Alabama by five points. Teague drained three consecutive 3-point shots to spark an NKU rally that forced overtime, and the Norse took advantage by outscoring North Alabama 20-14 in the extra session en route to a 100-94 victory. Teague finished with a career-high 21 points, and he shot 8-for-12 from the field. "Anthony didn't just settle for shooting the jump shot. He took the ball to the basket a couple of times, and sometimes it relaxes a shooter after scoring another way other than hitting a 20-footer," NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. "He did a great job hitting some big shots, and we needed all of them." Teague, a transfer from New Mexico, came off the bench and scored 10 points in the first half as NKU took a 38-34 lead at the break. Travis Rasso added eight of his 14 points in a reserve role during the first half for the Norse. "After watching Travis Rasso in practice the past couple of days, I told our coaches that he was going to help us in this game," Bezold said. "He had a little bit of a different bounce to him during practice, and it carried over into the game." With Esmir Guzonjic scoring 26 points, and Milton Nance adding 25 points, North Alabama rallied in the second half. A Guzonjic layup with 5:21 remaining gave the Lions a 68-63 lead, but Rasso countered with a basket to bring NKU within three points at 68-65. After Kenny Johnson hit two free throws to give North Alabama a 70-65 lead, Teague began his long-range barrage. His 3-pointer with 3:43 left cut the deficit to 70-68. Moments later, Teague struck again with a 24-footer to bring NKU within a point at 72-71. His last 3-pointer gave NKU a 75-74 lead with 2:15 remaining. "I can't say enough about Steve (Wright) and Billy (Finnell), and the way they penetrated and found me open for the shots," Teague said. "We had some ups and downs in this game, and this is a really good win for us. North Alabama hit some really tough shots, but we battled and never gave up." North Alabama held an 80-78 lead with seven seconds remaining in regulation after Quinn Beckwith made one of two free throws. Finnell, however, went hard to the basket on NKU's final possession and drew a foul with 0.5 seconds on the clock. The sophomore guard, who emerged as NKU's go-to player last season late in games, made both free throws to force overtime. In the extra session, Vincent Humphrey scored a pair of baskets and Wright came up with a key steal and layup as NKU improved to 7-3. Wright and Kevin Schappell (15 points) each made four free throws in the overtime to seal the victory. Wright finished with 18 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. David McFarland and James Cripe each added eight points for the Norse, who reached the 100-point mark for the first time since a 101-86 win over Wisconsin-Parkside on Jan. 22, 2005. "Different people stepped up and had big games, and that's the nice thing about having depth," Bezold said. "David McFarland did a great job guarding Beckwith. You will not see that on a stat sheet. So many people don't recognize what he does for us on the floor, but he is very important." NKU resumes Great Lakes Valley Conference play Jan. 4 with a road game at Wisconsin-Parkside. The Norse then travel to Romeoville, Ill., on Jan. 6 to meet Lewis in another GLVC contest. NKU's next home game is Jan. 9, when Kentucky Christian visits Regents Hall for a non-conference game at 7 p.m. |
