The NKU men's basketball team dropped a 57-56 decision to Saint Joseph's.
Box score
RENSSELAER, Ind. – A pair of last-second shots would not fall for Northern Kentucky University, and Saint Joseph's escaped with a 57-56 victory over the Norse on Saturday.
Saint Joseph's gained a 57-56 lead after Mark Lake scored a basket with 1:20 remaining in the game. NKU then committed a turnover with 57 seconds left, but Saint Joseph's was unable to convert on its possession, giving the Norse a final chance with 12 seconds remaining.
NKU found
David Palmer inside, but his jumper was off the mark.
Chris Knight, however, rebounded the miss and followed with a tip attempt. Knight's follow shot, however, bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Saint Joseph's won its fifth consecutive game and improved to 13-7 overall, 7-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. NKU dropped to 11-10 overall, 4-8 in the GLVC.
Palmer scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU, which owned a 48-40 lead with 8:15 left in the game after Knight's inside basket. Saint Joseph's, though, stormed back with a 10-0 run to take a 50-48 lead with 6:42 remaining on a pair of free throws by Andrew Helmer. NKU committed three turnovers during that run by the Pumas, and Palmer was hit with a technical foul.
NKU battled back and eventually regained the lead at 56-53 when
Dennis Gagai buried a 3-pointer with 2:56 left on the clock, but those would be the final points for the Norse.
Helmer, who led Saint Joseph's with 20 points, made two free throws with 1:59 remaining to cut the NKU lead to 56-55.
Corey Sorrell then missed a jumper, which was rebounded by Phillip Collins. Lake finished off the play by hustling the ball up the floor for a layup and the game's final points with 1:20 left on the clock.
Knight and Gagai each scored 10 points for NKU, which held Saint Joseph's to just 35.4 percent shooting from the field. The Norse, however, committed 17 turnovers and were just 10-for-17 at the free-throw line.
NKU returns home and plays host to nationally ranked Drury at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
