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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Northern Kentucky University opens its exhibition schedule next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against the University of Cincinnati in the Fifth Third Arena in Clifton. It will be the first of two exhibition games against Division I opponents for NKU, which finished 17-11 last season. The Norse will also meet Xavier at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the Cintas Center. Both exhibition games will be broadcast live on WIOK (107.5 FM). The games can also be heard live on the Internet at http://www.nku.edu/~athletics. Tickets for both exhibition games can be purchased by calling the NKU ticket line at (859) 572-6639. NKU returns three starters from last season and add an impressive group of newcomers. The Norse are the preseason favorites in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division. Senior guard Kevin Schappell averaged 11.2 points per game last season and is NKU’s top returning scorer. A graduate of Loveland High School, Schappell earned honorable mention All-GLVC accolades last season. Also returning for NKU is sophomore guard Billy Finnell, who was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 8.6 ppg and 4.4 assists per game. Finnell, who became NKU’s go-to player late in games last season, is a graduate of Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati. Returning letterwinners Harrison Morton (5.4 ppg), Mark Hawkins (5.7 ppg), Vincent Humphrey (8.0 ppg), Travis Rasso (4.3 ppg), Scott Bibbins (3.3 ppg) and David McFarland (2.5 ppg) give NKU an experienced nucleus. NKU/UC SERIES: NKU and UC met seven times in regular-season contests from 1981-1988, and the Bearcats hold a 7-0 lead against the Norse in the all-time series. After the 1988-89 season, however, UC dropped the series against NKU to boost its strength of schedule. The Bearcats do not play non-Division I opponents in the regular season because of the RPI ratings that help determine NCAA Tournament berths. LAST SEASON’S EXHIBITION AGAINST UC: On Nov. 12, 2005, Cincinnati used torrid shooting from the field to post a 96-60 victory over NKU at Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati shot 66.7 percent from the field - including 76 percent in the second half - and cruised to the win. The Bearcats also used 10-for-20 shooting from 3-point range and a 33-26 rebounding advantage to knock off NKU for the fifth consecutive year in their annual exhibition contest in front of a crowd of 6,937. Eric Hicks led Cincinnati with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. The Bearcats also allowed NKU to shoot just 31.5 percent from the field. IMPRESSIVE NEWCOMERS: An impressive group of newcomers could help make NKU a contender for the GLVC title this season. The newcomers include James Cripe, a 7-foot, 255-pound center who played at the University of Dayton the past three years. Cripe is the tallest player in Norse history and is expected to provide NKU with rebounding, scoring and interior defense.
Cripe averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds last season in 24 games for Dayton. He scored a career-high 14 points last November as Dayton posted a road upset at Cincinnati. Another key newcomer is senior guard Steven Wright, a transfer from Bowling Green State who played his prep basketball at Dayton Colonel White High School. Wright, an outstanding backcourt performer with great leaping ability, averaged 11.4 points per game at Bowling Green last season. The third Division I transfer on the roster is 6-5 guard/forward Anthony Teague, a long-range shooting specialist who played briefly at New Mexico. Teague scored 10 points against Ole Miss last season while at New Mexico. As a standout junior college player at Dodge City (Kan.), Teague averaged 17.3 ppg during the 2004-05 season. NKU also added two talented recruits - 6-6, 235-pound junior Darral Payton and 6-7, 210-pound freshman David Jefferson - who should challenge for immediate playing time. Payton, a former standout at Withrow High School in Cincinnati, played at Vincennes (Ind.) last season and averaged 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. Jefferson, one of the top players in the state of Virginia as a senior in high school, is an outstanding athlete who can go to the basket or shoot from the outside. EXHIBITIONS
AGAINST DIVISION I OPPONENTS: NKU is 0-8 against Division
I opponents since 2001. The Norse are 0-5 against Cincinnati, 0-1
against Kentucky, 0-1 against Xavier and 0-1 against Ohio State. NKU’S LAST WIN AGAINST A DIVISION I OPPONENT: On Jan. 14, 1984, NKU stunned Tennessee State, 66-64, in Regents Hall. It was NKU’s second win of the season against a Division I foe (the Norse also knocked off Evansville), and it marked the final time a Division I men’s opponent would visit Regents Hall. CINCINNATI CONNECTION: Kevin Schappell (Loveland), James Cripe (Loveland), Mark Hawkins (Finneytown), Mike Kimmey (Sycamore), Billy Finnell (Purcell Marian) and Darral Payton (Withrow) all played their high school basketball in Cincinnati. NORSE OPEN REGULAR SEASON AGAINST FERRIS STATE: NKU begins the regular season at 7:45 p.m. Nov. 17 against Ferris State in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Regents Hall. Ferris State advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last season and is expected to challenge for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship this season. The next night, NKU will meet Wayne (Mich.) State at 7:45 p.m. in the final game of the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic.
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