Feb. 19, 2002

NKU TO MEET UM-ST. LOUIS

Norse close out home season this week

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team is 17-7 after suffering a 99-76 loss at Kentucky Wesleyan College on Saturday. The Norse are 13-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and tied with the University of Southern Indiana and Lewis University for second place in the league standings. NKU will close out its home season this week with games against the University of Missouri-St. Louis (7:45 p.m. Thursday) and Quincy University (3:15 p.m. Saturday). Tyrus Boswell scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots Saturday night as Kentucky Wesleyan defeated NKU. Chris Landry also recorded a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) as Kentucky Wesleyan - the nation’s top-ranked team in the NCAA Division II poll - won its 36th consecutive home game. The Panthers shot 54.8 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 47-29 margin. Craig Sanders scored 25 points for NKU. Sanders also extended his school-record streak of consecutive games in double figures to 44. Brenden Stowers added 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Norse, and Carl Mitchell finished with 16 points. OWENSBORO JINX CONTINUES: NKU has now dropped 16 consecutive games to Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter. The Norse have not beaten Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter since Feb. 11, 1988, when NKU posted a 93-85 victory over the Panthers. SANDERS NEARS SCORING RECORD: NKU senior guard Craig Sanders has 1,933 career points and needs 48 points to become NKU’s all-time scoring leader. Brady Jackson is currently No. 1 in Norse history with 1,980 points. NKU - which has already qualified for the GLVC Tournament - is guaranteed at least three more games this season, and Sanders will have to average 16.0 points in those three games to break the record. He averages a GLVC-leading 19.8 points per game entering the final two regular-season contests. STOWERS EXTENDS SCORING STREAK: NKU junior guard Brenden Stowers has now scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games after finishing with 18 at Kentucky Wesleyan. Stowers, who averages 13.7 ppg, leads NKU with 75 assists and 54 steals. He is also shooting 53 percent from the field. IS 20 THE MAGIC NUMBER?: NKU is looking to win at least 20 games for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. The Norse need three more wins to reach the 20-victory plateau. The only time NKU has not won 20 games during the past seven years was in 1998-99, when the Norse finished 16-12. That is also the only time during the past seven years NKU did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament. GLVC TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS: Pairings and times for the GLVC Tournament will be announced this Sunday night (Feb. 24). The GLVC Tournament will be held at Evansville, Ind., in Roberts Stadium for the fourth straight year. The first round of the men’s GLVC Tournament will be played on Thursday, Feb. 28. If NKU wins both games this week, they will be seeded either No. 2 or No. 3 in the GLVC Tournament. If Southern Indiana wins twice this week, the Screaming Eagles will wrap up the No. 2 seed and NKU will be No. 3. If Southern Indiana splits and NKU wins twice, NKU will be the No. 2 seed. ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: The Rivermen are 10-14 after dropping a 63-61 decision to Saint Joseph's College on Saturday. Missouri-St. Louis is 6-12 in the GLVC and can qualify for the GLVC Tournament by winning one of its last two games. The Rivermen feature senior guard Deryn Carter, who averages 16.7 points per game. Senior center Scott Kassel is scoring 13.5 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 9.0 boards per contest. Senior forward Jim Schelich averages 11.8 ppg and has made 39 of 110 three-point attempts. THE LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS: Earlier this season on Jan. 26, Craig Sanders scored 30 points as NKU defeated Missouri-St. Louis, 78-73, at the Mark Twain Building. Sanders scored 17 points in the first half for NKU, which led by as many as nine points early in the first half. Missouri-St. Louis used the inside scoring of center Scott Kassel to forge a 36-36 halftime tie. Kassel had 15 of his 25 points in the first half. Sanders, who made eight three-point shots, connected on a three-pointer late in the second half to give NKU a 63-60 lead. Mike Kelsey’s three-point shot at the 1:27 mark extended the NKU advantage to 72-66, and Sanders sealed the victory by making a pair of free throws in the closing seconds. Carl Mitchell added 11 points for the Norse, and Brenden Stowers finished with 10 points. NKU made 16 of 30 three-point attempts and shot 52.2 percent from the field. The Norse also made 73.7 percent of their free throws and committed just 10 turnovers. ABOUT QUINCY: The Hawks, who play at the University of Indianapolis on Thursday, are 7-17 overall. Quincy is 4-14 in the GLVC. The Hawks are led by junior center Brian McNeil, who averages 17.0 ppg and 7.5 rebounds. Junior forward Jackson Jones is scoring 14.5 ppg and averages 6.2 rebounds per game. THE LAST TIME AGAINST QUINCY: Earlier this season on Jan. 3, Brenden Stowers’ stickback basket with two seconds remaining gave NKU a 76-74 win over Quincy at the Pepsi Arena. With the score tied at 74-74 and the clock winding down, NKU’s Bobby St-Preux drove the lane and missed. Stowers, however, grabbed the offensive rebound and made a twisting shot while falling down to give the Norse a 76-74 lead. Quincy had one final chance, but Stowers stole the long inbound pass. NKU trailed by seven points midway through the second half, but Craig Sanders hit a pair of key three-pointers to bring the Norse within 64-62 with 8:20 remaining. The Norse eventually forged a 70-67 lead on Carl Mitchell’s four-point play with 5:40 left. Mitchell was fouled while making a three-pointer, and he converted the free throw for the four-point play. St-Preux led NKU with 19 points, and he also added two steals and two assists.