HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will travel across the Ohio River to meet the University of Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday in an exhibition game at the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.
Tickets for the NKU/UC game can be purchased for $20 by calling (859) 572-6632 or (859) 572-6639.
NKU posted a 25-6 overall record last season and finished with a No. 4 national ranking in the NCAA Division II poll. The Norse won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title with a 58-55 victory over Lewis University in the championship game at Evansville, Ind.
NKU advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament at Houghton, Mich., but the Norse suffered an 80-76 upset loss to the University of Findlay in the opening round.
NKU welcomes back two starters and five letterwinners from last season. The Norse feature junior guard Mike Kelsey, who averaged 14.5 points per game a year ago. Kelsey made a team-leading 81 three-point shots last season and scored in double figures 27 times.
NKU also returns senior center Jesse Rupe (6.6 ppg), senior guard Adam Howell (5.3 ppg) and junior point guards Jordan Stowers and Sean Rowland from last season's team.
TOUGH TO REPLACE: NKU must replace All-American point guard Brenden Stowers, who averaged 16.2 ppg and led the team with 135 assists last season. The Norse will also have to find replacements for second team All-GLVC forward Quentin Smith (13.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg), forward Bobby St-Preux (10.2 ppg), and center Chris Seabrooks (8.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg) in 2003-04.
NKU lost 63 percent of its offensive production from last season’s team. The Norse must also replace 62 percent of their rebounding total from a year ago.
KELSEY MOVES UP SCORING LIST: NKU junior guard Mike Kelsey enters the 2003-04 season with 656 career points, which ranks No. 43 on the Norse all-time scoring list. Kelsey is a graduate of Elder High School in Cincinnati.
THREE-POINT THREATS: NKU figures to be one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation this season in the NCAA Division II ranks. In addition to Kelsey, NKU also returns senior guard Adam Howell, who made 35 of 84 attempts from three-point range last season.
Newcomers Steve Purdon, Brian Lewin, Jared Ronai and Kevin Schappell are also capable of effectively shooting the three-pointer. Purdon is a transfer from Union (Ky.) College, where he averaged 16.8 ppg two years ago.
A graduate of Covington Catholic High School, Purdon made 79 of 215 three-point attempts during the 2001-02 season at Union and was the Bulldogs’ leading scorer.
INSIDE HELP: A pair of transfers - 6-9 junior center Pat Cary and 6-7 junior center Adrian Wilkinson - are expected to provide inside scoring and rebounding for NKU this season.
Cary played at Division III Wilmington (Ohio) College for two seasons before transferring to NKU, and he averaged 12.3 ppg two years ago for the Quakers. He also made 56.7 percent of his shots from the field and averaged 5.3 rebounds per game.
Wilkinson started his college career at Wilberforce University in 1999 and averaged 4.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg. He scored a career-high 22 points against Ashland University as a freshman. He has also attended Wright State University (did not compete due to a knee injury) and Sinclair Community College, where he averaged 7.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg.
A 1999 graduate of Northmont (Ohio) High School, Wilkinson averaged 15 ppg and 9.1 rpg as a senior. He also set a Northmont school record as a senior by shooting 63.5 percent from the field.
REINHARDT READY TO HELP: NKU freshman forward Kevin Reinhardt has been impressive in preseason practice and could see significant playing time. A good leaper who can drive to the basket, Reinhardt sat out as a redshirt last season after enjoying an outstanding prep career at Campbell County High School.
NKU AGAINST DIVISION I OPPONENTS: NKU has not played a regular-season game against a Division I opponent since the 1994-95 campaign, when the Norse dropped an 85-63 decision at the University of Toledo.
THE SERIES AGAINST UC: NKU and UC met seven times in regular-season contests from 1981-1988, and the Bearcats hold a 7-0 lead against the Norse in the all-time series.
After the 1988-89 season, however, UC dropped the series against NKU to boost its strength of schedule. The Bearcats do not play non-Division I opponents in the regular season because of the RPI ratings that help determine NCAA Tournament berths.
Ken Shields was in his first season as head coach at NKU the last time the Norse played UC in a regular-season game on Nov. 27, 1988. The Bearcats were coached by Tony Yates that season and pulled out a 75-63 win over the Norse in the Cincinnati Gardens.
LAST SEASON’S EXHIBITION AGAINST UC: On Nov. 9, 2002, Leonard Stokes scored 19 points as Cincinnati defeated NKU, 71-51, in the Shoemaker Center. Field Williams added 12 points - all on three-point shots - as the Bearcats pulled away from the Norse in front of a crowd of 10,820.
Jason Maxiell added 11 points and nine rebounds for UC, which held NKU to 30.9 percent shooting from the field. UC jumped out to an early 18-7 lead as Williams drained a pair of three-point shots, and the Bearcats eventually stretched their advantage to 30-16.
The Norse rallied behind the shooting of Mike Kelsey, who connected on a trio of three-point shots in the first half and helped NKU cut the deficit to 34-22 at halftime.
UC used a 7-1 run to open the second half for a 41-23 lead, but a pair of baskets by Quentin Smith pulled NKU to within 41-27. Smith finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
UC built a 53-31 lead on a jumper by Stokes with 8:11 remaining, but an 8-4 NKU run sliced the Bearcats advantage to 57-39. UC extended the margin to 22 points (63-41) once again on a jumper by Chadd Moore with 4:13 remaining, and the Bearcats improved to 2-0 all-time in exhibition games against NKU.
UC shot 40 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 43-38 margin. The Bearcats also forced 22 NKU turnovers.
Kelsey led NKU with 19 points, including 5 of 8 from three-point range. Chris Seabrooks and Jesse Rupe both added nine points for the Norse, and Rupe pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.
NKU OPENS SEASON IN FLORIDA: NKU will open the regular season next Friday (Nov. 7) by participating in the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
NKU will open the round-robin tournament at 8:30 p.m. Friday against Kennesaw (Ga.) State University. NKU will meet Philadelphia (Pa.) University at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, and the Norse will conclude the three-day event with a 3:30 p.m. game against South Dakota State University on Sunday.
Kennesaw State finished with a 25-10 record last season, and the Owls advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Philadelphia posted a 16-12 record in 2002-03, while South Dakota State compiled a 24-7 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
NKU participated in the 2000 Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic and captured the tournament title by defeating Wayne (Neb.) State College, Bentley College and Rollins College.
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Jesse Rupe |