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CINCINNATI - Plenty of tricks, very few treats. That is what Northern Kentucky University handed out to the University of Cincinnati during their Halloween exhibition game Wednesday night. And it nearly resulted in a huge upset in Fifth Third Arena. The NKU tricks were 3-point shots, which the Norse buried with haunting regularity the entire evening. In the end, however, Cincinnati withstood the long-range barrage from the Norse and rallied for a 76-71 victory. NKU made 16 shots from 3-point range and was down just two points (70-68) in the closing seconds. Cincinnati, though, hit six free throws down the stretch to escape with the victory. "I think our guys were a little surprised with some of the shots they made," UC head coach Mick Cronin said. "(Mark) Hawkins is a great shooter. He made several of them, as well as (Vincent) Humphrey, who made over 40 percent (of his 3-point shots) last year." Hawkins, in fact, was 7-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 21 points to lead NKU. Humphrey connected on a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Those two kept the UC defense off-balance much of the first half and prevented the Bearcats from treating their fans to the dunking exhibition many anticipated. "Our guards penetrated very well and found us for the shots. They made our job easy, because all we had to do is step up and shoot it," Hawkins said. "I give all the credit to Billy (Finnell), Harrison (Morton) and Scott (Bibbins), who create the opportunities with their penetration. If they keep on doing that throughout the course of this season, we are going to get a lot of good shots." Finnell dished out five assists, while Morton added four assists. Bibbins finished with three assists, while Hawkins and David McFarland each dished out two assists. Hawkins, a graduate of Finneytown High School, laughed when asked about his shooting performance. "I felt like the basket was really big tonight," he said, "but that's my job on this team, and the shots were there." A year ago in the annual exhibition game, UC jumped out to a 47-11 halftime lead and coasted to an 87-41 win over NKU. The Norse, however, reversed things Wednesday night and connected on six 3-point shots in the opening six minutes of the game to build a 22-7 lead. Morton capped the early NKU run with a driving layup. "I felt Northern did a great job, and that's what we needed," Cronin said of NKU's 15-point lead in the first half. "Getting a team to come in and play the way they played against us, exploiting some of our weaknesses, out-hustling us, really sent a message."
The taller, more physical Bearcats eventually found their game and crept within three points (36-33) at halftime. NKU blistered the nets from 3-point range in the first half, finishing 9-for-13 from beyond the arc at the break. With just one player standing taller than 6-foot-5, the Norse held the lead at halftime. "When you play a team like UC with that caliber of athlete and the size that they have, you have to get off to a good start or they will pound you," Hawkins said. "We came out aggressive tonight, and we showed we can play with them." UC eventually caught NKU and later took a 63-56 lead when Rashad Bishop nailed a 3-pointer with 5:41 remaining in the game. NKU, though, responded with an 8-2 run to make it 65-64 with 3:13 left. Hawkins capped the spurt by burying a long 3-pointer. Deonta Vaughn countered by making a 3-pointer and finishing off a break with a basket to make it 70-64. Hawkins later hit another 3-pointer to bring NKU within 70-68 with 34 seconds remaining, but UC made its free throws and improved to 7-0 against NKU in exhibition games. "Last year we were very talented, but we were not a very good team at this time in the season," NKU head coach Dave Bezold said, noting the number of newcomers on last season's squad. "These guys have been playing together for two or three years, and they have an understanding of what we want to do both offensively and defensively. "I'm not surprised by the number of 3-pointers we hit tonight, because that's all we can do. That is the strength of this team. Some nights when they don't fall, people might wonder why we don't throw it inside. But our guys are really executing well, and they did a very good job in this game." Morton and Dennis Gagai each scored 12 points for NKU, which posted a 24-9 record last season advanced to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament championship game. The Norse are picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division poll. NKU shot 59 percent (16-for-27) from 3-point range, but UC won the rebounding battle by a 34-20 margin. Vaughn led the Bearcats with 17 points, and Adam Hrycaniuk scored 15 points. Bishop and Anthony McClain each added 10 points for UC. NKU begins the regular season at 7:45 p.m. Nov. 16 against UC-Clermont in the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Regents Hall. The next night, NKU will meet Division II national powerhouse Findlay at 7:45 p.m. in the final game of the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic.
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