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By Tom Ramstetter, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team closes out the Regents Hall era this week with home games against Saint Joseph’s (Thursday at 7:45 p.m.) and Indianapolis (Saturday at 7 p.m.). Members of the first men’s and women’s Northern Kentucky State College teams will be recognized Saturday. Both NKU teams will wear throwback jerseys that the first squads wore in the 1970s. NKU will move into its new on-campus arena, The Bank of Kentucky Center, next season. On Saturday, Anthony Teague, Mark Hawkins, Travis Rasso, Vincent Humphrey and Harrison Morton will be recognized during Senior Night festivities. That game will be televised live on ICN-6. KNIGHT-MARE INSIDE: Senior center Dzaflo Larkai dominated the inside and scored 26 points as Bellarmine upset NKU, 75-71, Saturday night in Regents Hall. The Norse entered that game ranked 22nd nationally in the NCAA Division II poll and atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division standings. NKU is now 16-4 overall, 10-3 in the GLVC and in second place in the GLVC East. Kentucky Wesleyan leads the GLVC East with an 11-2 record. The Norse own a win over the Panthers earlier this season and will visit Owensboro later this month. FOUL TROUBLE: Three NKU starters fouled out Saturday, starting with Harrison Morton with 5:51 left in the game. Anthony Teague followed with 3:44 left, and Vincent Humphrey took a seat on the bench with 43.1 seconds left. COLD FROM THE FIELD: NKU shot only 39 percent (23-59) from the field against Bellarmine, including 32.1 percent in the first half. HUMPHREY AND HAWKINS BATTLE: Vincent Humphrey led the Norse on a furious comeback attempt, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the second half and helping to close the deficit to five points, 67-62, with just over a minute remaining before fouling out. Mark Hawkins took over from there and helped the Norse pull to within two points, 73-71, with his 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, but NKU could get no closer. Hawkins finished with 12 points, all in the second half. Humphrey is fourth on the team with 9.4 points per game and Hawkins is averaging 4.7 points. TORRID START: Teague scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half Saturday. In a win over Wisconsin-Parkside on Feb. 2, Teague made all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half and had 13 of his 15 points at the break. Teague is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg. BIBBINS AT THE LINE: Holy Cross High School graduate Scott Bibbins scored 10 points against Bellarmine and added a game-high six assists while hitting both of his free-throw attempts to remain atop the GLVC rankings in free-throw percentage. The sophomore point guard has made 48 of 51 attempts this season for an eye-popping 94.1 percent. Bibbins also averages 9.2 points per game. NORSE ASSISTS: Billy Finnell dished out five assists Saturday and is now ranked 10th in the conference with 3.5 helpers per game. Junior guard David McFarland, a Boone County High School graduate, leads the team and is ninth in the conference at 3.55 assists. Bibbins ranks 12th in the GLVC at 3.4. ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH’S: The Pumas (13-8 overall, 9-4 GLVC) are tied for third place in the GLVC East Division with Lewis. Ronald Coleman, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward leads Saint Joseph’s with 15.7 points per game. Senior guard/forward Devin Thomas scores 13.8 points per game, and 6-7 junior forward Brandon Mayse averages an even 10 points per game. The Pumas had won six straight contests before losing at Kentucky Wesleyan last Saturday. THE LAST TIME AGAINST SAINT JOSEPH’S: The Pumas’ six-game winning streak followed a 58-55 loss to the Norse in Rensselaer, Ind., on Jan. 12. Freshman guard Dennis Gagai buried a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:24 of the game as NKU posted the comeback win at Saint Joseph’s. Gagai also made a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds left to give the Norse a three-point lead, and NKU survived a last-second 3-point attempt from Will Jones. Gagai finished with a team-leading 14 points, eight of those in the final two minutes. His 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining gave NKU a 53-50 lead, and he extended the advantage to 56-50 with 33 seconds left with another trey. For the game, Gagai made four 3-pointers and added an assist in 25 minutes. Ronald Coleman led Saint Joseph’s with 14 points and eight rebounds, but the Pumas managed to shoot just 32.7 percent from the field. NKU’s defense also held Saint Joseph’s to 4-for-22 shooting from 3-point range. Finnell dished out seven assists for NKU, which received 39 points from its bench. DeAaron Williams scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds for NKU, while Harrison Morton added seven points and two steals. THE LAST TIME AGAINST INDIANAPOLIS: Four Norse players scored in double figures, and NKU rolled past the Greyhounds 74-59 Jan. 10 at Indianapolis. Teague’s 17 points led the Norse. Teague hit five 3-point shots for the Norse, who finished 10-for-22 from long range. The NKU defense held Indianapolis to 38.9 percent shooting from the field and forced Greyhound standout guard DeAndre Brock into a 3-for-14 night from the field and 12 points. NKU began the second half on a 10-1 run to build a 49-35 lead and coasted to the victory. Teague hit a pair of 3-pointers to key the spurt, and Humphrey also buried a 3-pointer during the run. Humphrey finished with 15 points and made a trio of 3-point shots. Harrison Morton added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Norse, while DeAaron Williams scored 12 points. Scott Bibbins scored eight points and dished out four assists for NKU, which shot 50 percent from the field and committed just nine turnovers. BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT: This Thursday, fans will receive a free bobblehead doll of NKU president Dr. James Votruba during the Norse’s doubleheader against Saint Joseph’s in Regents Hall. GLVC FORMAT: If the Norse win the GLVC East title or finish second, they will host a first-round GLVC Tournament game March 4 in Regents Hall. The semifinals and finals will then be played at the highest remaining seed. The GLVC Tournament had been held in Evansville, Ind., the past nine years in Roberts Stadium.
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