Dustin Maguire (left) scored 21 points against Edinboro on Friday night.
Box score
ERIE, Pa. –
David Palmer scored 27 points as Northern Kentucky University posted an 86-77 win against Edinboro (Pa.) in the first round of the Gary Miller Classic on Friday night.
Dustin Maguire added 21 points for NKU, which improved to 4-1 with its fourth consecutive victory.
Chris Knight finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots for the Norse, who shot 52.4 percent from the field.
Palmer, a 6-foot-9 senior center, scored 17 points in the first half as NKU rallied from an early 10-point deficit to take a 44-37 lead at the break. The Norse used a 24-6 run to turn a 24-14 deficit into a 38-30 lead with 3:33 remaining in the half.
Maguire added nine points in the first half and Knight scored eight before the break. NKU shot 63.3 percent from the field in the first half, led by Palmer's 7-for-8 performance.
Scott Bibbins scored 12 points for NKU, while teammate
Ethan Faulkner dished out a career-high 12 assists.
Dennis Gagai added nine points off the bench for NKU.
Al Muteba led Edinboro (2-1) with 17 points. The Fighting Scots were 24-for-33 from the free-throw line and won the rebounding battle by a 41-33 margin. NKU, however, limited Edinboro to just 40 percent shooting from the floor.
NKU concludes the two-day event Saturday night by meeting host Gannon at 8 p.m. The Norse own a 4-2 lead in the all-time series against Gannon.
NKU begins Great Lakes Valley Conference play next Thursday with a road game at Indianapolis. The Norse then travel to Evansville, Ind., on Dec. 5 for a showdown against Southern Indiana.
