Jan. 3, 2000
NKU HITS ROAD FOR KENTUCKY WESLEYAN
Norse (10-2) face defending NCAA champion KWC (8-0)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team, now 10-2 after winning on the road at California (Pa.), 73-63, last Thursday, resumes Great Lakes Valley Conference play this week. The Norse will travel to Owensboro, Ky., this Thursday night to meet defending NCAA Division II national champion Kentucky Wesleyan College at 8:30 p.m.
NKU, ranked No. 6 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, will also play host to Bellarmine College at 3:15 p.m. this Saturday in Regents Hall.
NKU won the Holiday Inn Food For the Hungry Tournament title last week with victories against Mount Olive and California (Pa.). In the championship game against California (Pa.), Norse senior forward Scott Marston came off the bench and scored 20 points to lead the attack.
Marston (7.4 points per game) made 7 of 11 shots from the field, including four three-pointers. He has now made 21 of 55 (38.2 percent) three-point attempts this season.
Sophomore forward Craig Sanders continues to lead NKU in scoring (14.4 ppg) and three-pointers made (39). Sanders also has made 72 percent of his free throws.
Junior guard Brian Lawhon is scoring 10.2 ppg, and he is No. 2 on the team in three-pointers made with 24. Lawhon is shooting 88 percent from the free throw line, and he has 24 assists.
Junior guard Craig Conley averages 9.8 ppg and leads NKU in three-point shooting at 54.8 percent. Conley also has 38 assists and 22 steals.
LISTERMAN, BREWSTER EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: NKU senior guard Kevin Listerman was named the most valuable player of the Holiday Inn Food For the Hungry Tournament at California (Pa.), and junior forward Billy Brewster was named All-Tournament.
END OF THE ROAD: NKU will conclude its stretch of nine consecutive games away from Regents Hall with this Thursday's contest at Kentucky Wesleyan. The Norse have not played at home in Regents Hall since Nov. 27, when they posted a 99-59 win against Olivet Nazarene. NKU will play host to Bellarmine this Saturday (Jan. 8) at 3:15 p.m.
ABOUT KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: The Panthers, ranked No. 5 nationally in the Division II poll, own an 8-0 record. KWC also is 3-0 in the GLVC, and the Panthers own the nation’s longest homecourt winning streak with 50 consecutive victories in the Owensboro Sportscenter.
The Panthers will play host to Lees-McRae College on Monday night before facing NKU, and KWC is likely to enter Thursday's GLVC showdown with the Norse riding a 51-game home winning streak.
KWC is led by junior guard Lorico Duncan, who averages 19.5 points and 5.4 assists. Duncan has made 19 three-pointers and he also has 21 steals. Senior center Albert Richardson averages 14.0 ppg and 8.5 rebounds, and he is shooting 56.6 percent from the field.
Senior forward Leroy John averages 13.8 ppg and a team-leading 10.3 rpg. John is also shooting 53.6 percent from the field. Junior guard Gino Bartolone averages 11.4 ppg, and junior forward Chris Thomas (8.8 ppg) leads KWC with 15 blocked shots.
OWENSBORO JINX: NKU has not beaten Kentucky Wesleyan in the Owensboro Sportscenter since Feb. 11, 1988, when the Norse posted a 93-85 victory over the Panthers. Since then, NKU has dropped 11 consecutive games to KWC in the Sportscenter. NKU head coach Ken Shields is 0-11 against KWC in the Owensboro Sportscenter.
NKU did win a game in the Owensboro Sportscenter two years ago in the NCAA Tournament with a 78-63 victory over Ferris State in the first round.
KWC MAKES HISTORY AGAINST NKU A YEAR AGO: Last season, KWC became the first men’s basketball team to ever defeat NKU three times in one season. The Panthers swept NKU during the regular season and then knocked off the Norse in the first round of the GLVC Tournament at Evansville, Ind.