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ROLLA, Mo. - The 3-pointers were falling Saturday afternoon for Northern Kentucky University, and that meant big-time trouble for Missouri S&T. NKU knocked down 16 shots from 3-point range en route to an 84-53 road win over Missouri S&T. Mark Hawkins and Dennis Gagai each scored 14 points off the bench as the 25th-ranked Norse cruised to the victory. Vincent Humphrey added 13 points for NKU, which improved to 14-3 overall. The Norse also maintained their hold on first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division with an 8-2 record. “We needed this game after slipping up the other night, and we did a good job of making the open shots,” said Humphrey, who finished 5-for-9 from the field with four rebounds. “One of the things I love about this team is they tell you to keep shooting. If you get open looks, keep shooting it and they will eventually fall. That’s what we did today, and the guys were really making the open shots.” Hawkins and Gagai each buried four shots from 3-point range for NKU, which began the second half with a 20-4 run to build a 60-36 lead on a dunk by DeAaron Williams. The Norse, who entered the NCAA Division II national rankings earlier in the week for the first time in five years, finished 16-for-36 from behind the arc and made 50 percent of their shots from the field. “We made shots in this game, and that’s the only difference between this win and our loss (to Missouri-St. Louis) on Thursday,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “It was great to see Mark Hawkins shoot the ball like that, and it’s a good way to end a long road trip.” Hawkins scored eight points in the first half as the Norse forged a 40-32 lead at the break. Gagai netted 11 points before the break, including a trio of 3-pointers. Anthony Teague drained three 3-pointers for NKU and added nine points. Scott Bibbins scored nine points and dished out six assists, while Williams added eight points and six rebounds for the Norse. David McFarland, a Boone County High School graduate who leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, finished with five assists and one turnover. NKU returns home to play Lewis on Thursday night at 7:45 p.m. The Norse also face a showdown with preseason GLVC East favorite Wisconsin-Parkside at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. “Now we get to go home and play some very big games next week,” Humphrey said. “We need to win next week, and those are two really tough teams coming into our building.”
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