HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -
Dustin Maguire scored 20 points to lead Northern Kentucky University to a 69-62 win over Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
A'Daeron Duncan added 16 points as NKU improved to 10-4 overall, 3-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Norse used an 18-5 run in the second half to turn a 41-36 deficit into a 54-46 lead with 5:16 remaining in the game.
Maguire and
Billy Finnell each knocked down 3-pointers to key the NKU spurt. Finnell finished with nine points and three assists.
"We didn't have our best game as far as shooting goes, but our guys made big plays after Missouri-St. Louis took the lead," NKU head coach
Dave Bezold said. "Maguire hit some big shots, and Billy was a big key for us during the run."
Duncan led NKU with eight rebounds, and he added three assists. The Norse shot 42.6 percent from the field and were 5-for-20 from 3-point range.
Alex Jackson led Missouri-St. Louis (10-6, 2-4 GLVC) with 17 points. The Tritons made 44 percent of their shots from the field.
"They played really good defense. They were a quick and athletic team that pressured the ball," Maguire said of Missouri-St. Louis. "We just needed to get going toward the basket, and as we started to do that, it loosened things up for us. We were able to get some penetration, and then get some shots to go down."
DeAaron Williams added nine points and five rebounds for NKU, which is ranked 19th nationally in the NCAA Division II poll. The Norse committed just six turnovers the entire game.
"We did a great job of taking care of the ball, and we won at home, which you have to do in this conference," Bezold said. "We played a very tough game against Southern Indiana on the road last Thursday. It was nice to be at home for this game, because if this one had been on the road, it might have been very tough for us to make that comeback."
NKU hits the road next week for games at Rockhurst (Thursday) and Drury (Saturday).
