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OWENSBORO, Ky. - The battle for first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division standings took place Thursday night in the Owensboro Sportscenter, and Northern Kentucky University emerged with a 78-63 win over Kentucky Wesleyan. Harrison Morton scored 22 points to lead NKU, which improved to 19-5 overall, 13-4 in the GLVC. Kentucky Wesleyan, which is ranked 22nd nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, dropped to 22-5 overall, 12-4 in the GLVC. Billy Finnell added 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field for NKU, which has beaten Kentucky Wesleyan eight consecutive times. The junior guard from Purcell Marian High School also dished out four assists and made all four of his free-throw attempts. “It was a great team effort, and every night it’s a different person who leads us,” Finnell said. “Harrison did a great job in this game. Every game means so much this time of the season in the conference, and we played really well against a very good team.” Earlier this season, NKU posted a 69-62 win over Kentucky Wesleyan in Regents Hall. The Norse are the defending GLVC East Division champions. Norse head coach Dave Bezold improved to 8-0 all-time against the Panthers and liked what he saw from his team Thursday night. “I thought going into this game we might have to make 14 or 15 3-pointers to be able to sneak out of here with a win, just because Wesleyan has been playing so well in this building,” Bezold said. “We didn’t rely on hitting 3-pointers in this game, and the guys did a great job of attacking the basket.” The NKU defense limited Jeff Fahnbulleh to seven points. Fahnbulleh entered Thursday night averaging 18.6 points per game. The Norse also held Rodney Edgerson (18.4 ppg) to nine points. T.J. Smith netted 26 points to lead Kentucky Wesleyan. Dennis Gagai scored 10 points for NKU, and Anthony Teague finished with nine points. NKU will hit the road next week for a Thursday game at Wisconsin-Parkside. The Norse finish out their regular-season schedule March 1 at Lewis. NKU has clinched a berth in the GLVC Tournament and will begin play in that event March 4. The first round will be held at campus sites, with the semifinals and championship held at the site of the highest remaining seed.
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