HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will play host to Kentucky Wesleyan College at 7:45 p.m. this Thursday in Regents Hall.
NKU, now 10-5 overall, enters Thursday night with a 3-2 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Kentucky Wesleyan is 5-4 overall, 2-3 in the GLVC.
The Norse will also play host to the University of Southern Indiana at 3:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Southern Indiana - which was ranked No. 1 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll before suffering a home loss to Lewis University last week - is 12-1 overall, 5-1 in the GLVC.
Both games can be heard live on the radio on WTSJ (1050 AM).
NKU is looking to bounce back from a 95-92 overtime loss to the University of Indianapolis this past Friday night in Regents Hall. David Logan scored 44 points - including six in overtime - as the Greyhounds snapped NKU’s five-game winning streak and earned their first triumph in Regents Hall since the 1998-99 season.
KELSEY SETS NKU SCORING RECORD: NKU junior guard Mike Kelsey scored a school-record 50 points in the loss to Indianapolis last Friday. Kelsey’s 50-point performance shattered the previous NKU record of 43 points, set by Greg Phelia against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Jan. 18, 1992.
Kelsey was 16-for-25 from the field, including 9-of-13 shooting from three-point range. Several of Kelsey’s three-pointers were 25-foot jumpers coming off screens, and his 50 points were two shy of the GLVC record of 52 (set by Gary Paul of Indianapolis on Jan. 14, 1988, against NKU).
Kelsey scored 39 points in the second half, and he sent the game into overtime by making three free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation after he was fouled attempting a three-pointer with Indianapolis holding an 83-80 lead.
Kelsey, who averages a team-leading 18.8 points per game (No. 4 in the GLVC), now has 938 career points and is 27th on the Norse’s all-time scoring list. He has scored in double figures in 14 of NKU’s 15 games this season. Going into Thursday’s game, Kelsey is also No. 1 in the GLVC in three-pointers made per game at 3.27.
He was named GLVC tri-Player of the Week on Monday.
INSIDE FORCE: NKU senior center Jesse Rupe continued his effective play with a 19-point, nine-rebound performance against Indianapolis. For the season, Rupe averages 14.5 ppg and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 54 percent from the field and has 17 blocked shots.
Rupe has scored in double figures 12 times this season, and he has four double-doubles.
THE FLOOR GENERAL: NKU junior point guard Sean Rowland ranks No. 2 in the GLVC in assists (5.13 apg). He dished out seven assists against Indianapolis last Friday.
FROM LONG RANGE: NKU has made 127 three-point field goals - more than any other GLVC team. The Norse are 127-for-327 (.388) from beyond the arc this season.
ABOUT KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: The Panthers own a 5-4 overall record after dropping an 86-85 decision to Saint Joseph's College last Sunday at Owensboro, Ky.
The Panthers feature junior forward Dontae Truitt, who averages 19.7 ppg and 7.6 rpg. Senior center Eric Freeman is scoring 15.3 ppg and leads Kentucky Wesleyan in rebounding at 7.9 rpg.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST KENTUCKY WESLEYAN: On Feb. 15, 2003, Marlon Parmer and Huggy Dye combined for 43 points as Kentucky Wesleyan held off NKU, 71-68, in Regents Hall. Dye scored a game-high 22 points as the Panthers rallied for the win.
Kentucky Wesleyan trailed 35-30 at halftime, but the Panthers used a 21-5 run to begin the second half and eventually built a 65-54 lead with 3:30 remaining when Parmer - who scored 18 points in the second half - made two free throws.
NKU, however, used a 9-0 run to slice the deficit to 65-63 on Mike Kelsey’s basket with 1:13 remaining. Kelsey later hit three free throws to bring the Norse within 67-66 with 28 seconds left, but Parmer responded by making a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining in the game.
Brenden Stowers converted a layup with 3.9 seconds left to pull NKU within 69-68, and Dewayne Rogers was fouled with 2.8 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to extend Kentucky Wesleyan’s lead to 71-68.
Jesse Rupe found Stowers with a long inbound pass on the ensuing play, but Stowers missed a 35-foot three-pointer that would have sent the game into overtime.
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Jesse Rupe |