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EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Less than four weeks ago, Northern Kentucky University shot its way to an easy 87-63 road win at Rockhurst. So, when those same two teams met during the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday, what were the NKU players thinking prior to their second encounter with the Hawks? "The first time we played them, we hit nine out of 10 (3-point shots) to start the game, so you can’t judge a team on a game like that," said NKU senior guard Steven Wright. "Rockhurst has a very good team, and we knew this was going to be a much tougher game." A tougher game indeed, but NKU still found a way to win and pulled away for a 71-61 victory over Rockhurst in Roberts Stadium. The Norse, the No. 1 seed from the GLVC East Division, improved to 21-7 and will meet Drury in the GLVC Tournament semifinals at noon (CST) Saturday. Wright, who was named GLVC Player of the Year a day earlier, scored 19 points to lead the NKU offense. He also made five free throws in the final 1:31 to help seal the win for the Norse. The 6-foot-3 senior guard also had a pair of resounding dunks, bringing his season total to 34 slams. Kevin Schappell added 17 points, and Billy Finnell finished with 12 points and six assists for NKU, which built a 34-24 halftime lead after shooting 56.5 percent from the field. Anthony Teague buried a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give NKU the 10-point advantage at the break. "We shot the ball so well the first time we played them, we really didn’t know how good this team can be," NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. "Rockhurst just beat Southern Indiana, and you have to be good to beat them. They also knocked off some other very good opponents this season, so you almost had to throw that first game we played out. Our guys were patient, and we did a good job attacking in transition, and it's a good win over a very talented Rockhurst team." Rockhurst battled back in the second half and took a 43-41 lead with 10:32 remaining on a basket by Jon-Erik Price. NKU, however, countered with a 16-4 run to take a 57-47 advantage. Teague started the NKU spurt by draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key off an assist from Vincent Humphrey to give NKU a 44-43 advantage. Schappell scored seven points during the run, and Finnell capped the spurt with a driving layup to stretch the Norse lead to 57-47 with 4:40 remaining.
"Teague's 3-pointer from the top of the key was the biggest shot of the game because it gave us the lead, and you could feel our energy level soar," Bezold said. "Everyone became involved after that shot, and Anthony is the kind of player who can make big plays from anywhere on the floor." Joey Deas scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to rally Rockhurst, and John Torson added 11 points for Rockhurst (17-11). The Hawks won the rebounding battle by a 31-30 margin but made just 38.7 percent of their shots from the field. "We had trouble stopping Deas in the second half, but he hit some great shots," Bezold said. "Rockhurst is really a strong, physical team. Luckily, we played well for the most part, and our guys made big free throws in the final minutes." NKU finished 15-for-17 from the line, including 12-for-14 in the second half. Wright used 7-for-8 shooting from the line to help ice the victory, and he was recognized at the conclusion of the Drury/Wisconsin-Parkside game for being voted the GLVC Player of the Year. The former Dayton Colonel White star, who transferred to NKU after spending three seasons at Bowling Green, was appreciative of receiving the GLVC honor. "It means a great deal to me, but I really am not about individual awards, and I never have been," he said. "I’ve always been about team goals. The important part of it is being out there with my teammates and playing to win. It’s important they’re comfortable with me out there on the floor with the ball, and I just want to help us win." Added Bezold: "If we could get a player like Steve every year, we would win 20 games every season. He is a great teammate, he shows up every day and works extremely hard in practice. You don’t have to worry about him being late, and he is a coach's dream. "Hopefully we can keep Steve around a couple of more weeks and have some fun in the postseason. This was fun today, and Steve was able to show off some of his dunking skills to the crowd down here." Drury withstood a 34-point scoring outburst by Wisconsin-Parkside's LaVontay Fenderson to hold on for an 88-75 win over the Rangers in the other afternoon first-round game. Collins Harris scored 20 points to lead the Panthers, who defeated NKU earlier this season, 78-69, at Springfield, Mo. |
