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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University will attempt to remain in first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division Thursday night when Lewis visits Regents Hall at 7:45 p.m. NKU is 15-6 overall, 8-5 in the GLVC. Lewis is one game behind NKU with a 7-6 GLVC mark, and the Flyers are 12-9 overall. The Norse will also play host to Wisconsin-Parkside at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in Regents Hall. NKU posted an 87-63 win over Rockhurst last Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., to split its two-game western road trip. Last Thursday night, the Norse dropped a 78-69 decision to Drury at Springfield, Mo. VINCE OF THREE’S: Vincent Humphrey turned Rockhurst’s Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse into his own personal 3-point shooting gallery Saturday afternoon. Humphrey connected on a career-high six 3-point field goals en route to 18 points as NKU defeated Rockhurst. Humphrey, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, hit five 3-pointers during the opening 10 minutes of the game as NKU built a 31-19 lead. For the season, Humphrey is 27-for-60 (.450) from 3-point range, which ranks eighth in the latest GLVC statistics. He averages 7.1 points per game. TREY-RIFFIC: The Norse were 17-for-28 from behind the arc for 60.7 percent against Rockhurst, including 10-for-16 shooting in the first half. Earlier this season, NKU tied a school record by draining 18 3-point field goals en route to an 89-51 win over Tiffin. NKU also made 18 3-pointers on Dec. 16, 1991, during a 126-120 overtime victory at Oakland City (Ind.). Not surprisingly, NKU leads the GLVC in both 3-point shooting percentage (.409) and 3-pointers made (9.48 per game). NORSE JAM-OLOGY: NKU’s Steven Wright enters Thursday night with 21 dunks this season, the most ever by a Norse guard. LaRon Moore, a 6-6 forward, holds the NKU record for most dunks in a season with 41, set in 1995-96. Wright, a 6-3 senior and a candidate for GLVC Player of the Year, leads NKU in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (5.2 rpg), steals (31) and minutes played (30.7 mpg). He ranks second on the team with 69 assists and has made 35 shots from 3-point range. CLUXTON-ESQUE: This being the 10-year anniversary of Paul Cluxton’s 94-for-94 shooting from the free-throw line in 1996-97, NKU senior Kevin Schappell is making 90.3 percent of his tosses from the charity stripe to lead the GLVC. Schappell is 65-for-72 from the line and averages 12.1 ppg. ABOUT LEWIS: The Flyers feature guard Brandon Dagans, who ranks second in the GLVC in scoring at 18.3 ppg. Dagans has also made 39 3-pointers this season. Stephan Bolt is an inside force for Lewis, averaging 15.9 ppg and 10.1 rebounds per contest. Long-range shooting specialist Jason Genova is scoring 15.3 ppg. THE LAST TIME AGAINST LEWIS: Earlier this season on Jan. 6, NKU built an 18-point lead in the second half and held off a late rally to post a 72-66 win over Lewis in Neil Carey Arena. The Norse parlayed 66.7 percent shooting from the field in the first half to take a 42-25 lead into the locker room, and, after extending the advantage to 18 early in the second half, held on for the key GLVC road victory.
The Norse made just 40 percent of their shots during the final 20 minutes and missed eight free throws in the second half. Lewis, meanwhile, used a 28-12 run to slice the deficit to 62-60 on a Stephan Bolt basket with 2:59 remaining. Bolt was also fouled on the play, but he missed the free throw. Lewis grabbed the offensive rebound with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a short jumper by Dustin Warfield was off the mark and James Cripe collected the board for NKU. Anthony Teague drained a 3-pointer with 2:06 left to extend NKU's lead to 65-60. Billy Finnell, who scored 10 points, converted a short jumper in the final minute that extended NKU's advantage to 68-62. After Lewis pulled to within three points with 8.2 seconds left, Billy Finnell made two free throws to seal the win. Kevin Schappell poured in 23 points to lead NKU. Bolt led Lewis with 22 points and 18 rebounds. NKU shot 54.5 percent from the field and held Lewis to 39.3 from the floor. Teague came off the bench and scored nine points, and Cripe added eight points. THE LAST TIME AGAINST WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE: On Jan. 4, NKU scored just three points during the opening seven minutes of the second half and watched as Wisconsin-Parkside battled back for an 80-73 win in the DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers - who trailed by five points (39-34) at halftime - opened the second half with a 24-10 run and cruised to the GLVC victory. NKU sizzled during the opening 20 minutes by shooting 56.5 percent from the field. The Norse made eight shots from 3-point range - including 4-for-4 shooting from downtown by Anthony Teague - and appeared to be in good shape at the break with the five-point lead. During the first
seven minutes of the second half, however, NKU managed only a layup
and a free throw by Teague. Wisconsin-Parkside took full advantage
of the drought and eventually built a 58-49 lead on a 3-pointer
by Dave Keane. Steven Wright
netted 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead NKU. The senior
guard also dished out five assists in 36 minutes. Teague finished
with 19 points and five rebounds, while James Cripe added 11 points. |
