EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A basketball team rarely wins a championship without a narrow escape along the way, and the fact Northern Kentucky University claimed three consecutive down-to-the-wire victories en route to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title made the trophy even more special Saturday night.
As Monta McGhee’s desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer fell harmlessly to the floor, members of the NKU men’s basketball team met at halfcourt to celebrate their 58-55 victory over Lewis University. In a span of 72 hours, the Norse had posted come-from-behind victories over Wisconsin-Parkside, Southern Indiana and Lewis en route to the school’s first GLVC Tournament championship.
Despite all the close games, the Norse still had more than enough energy to cut down the nets in Roberts Stadium.
“This is a great moment for the program and our players, and what a way to win a championship,” NKU head coach Ken Shields said after his team rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat Lewis.
“For three straight days, we found ourselves having to play from behind, but the guys fought and never gave in,” he added. “This is a tough group, and they really earned this championship.”
Brenden Stowers scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to key the Norse win. Stowers, a senior guard and a graduate of Simon Kenton High School, also earned most valuable player honors as NKU improved to 25-5. Bobby St-Preux added 14 points, including a running jumper with six seconds remaining in the game that gave NKU a 58-55 lead.
“It was a great comeback by our players, and they deserve a lot of credit for battling back from a big deficit against an outstanding Lewis team,” Shields said. “Brenden Stowers was tremendous the entire tournament, and what a huge shot by Bobby St-Preux in the closing seconds.”
Lewis (23-7) built a 42-29 lead with 15 minutes left in the game on a McGhee layup, but NKU responded with a 22-8 run to take a 51-50 advantage on Stowers’ layup at the 5:52 mark. Stowers later hit a three-pointer with 3:17 left that gave the Norse a 56-53 lead, but McGhee countered with two free throws - the final points of the game for Lewis - at the 2:26 mark to cut the deficit to 56-55.
Both teams missed scoring chances in the final two minutes, but with the shot clock winding down, St-Preux took a pass at the top of the key, drove the left side of the lane and hit a 10-foot running jumper to extend NKU’s lead to 58-55 with six seconds left in the game.
McGhee launched a 25-footer from the left side on Lewis’ final possession, but the shot was off target as the buzzer sounded.
While NKU had won regular-season GLVC titles in 1995 and ‘97, the Norse had never advanced past the GLVC Tournament semifinals until this season. Lewis, ranked No. 20 nationally in the NCAA Division II poll, was the defending GLVC Tournament champion.
NKU, ranked No. 10 nationally, earned the GLVC’s automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Norse are expected to be the No. 3 seed in NCAA II Great Lakes Regional and play at Houghton, Mich., next Friday.
Pairings for the NCAA Tournament will be announced Monday.
NKU’s Mike Kelsey joined Stowers, McGhee, Lewis’ Demitrius Hunter and Southern Indiana’s Clarence Chillers on the all-tournament team.
Brenden Stowers