Dennis Gagai (left) goes against Bellarmine's Braydon Hobbs (3) on Thursday night.
Box score
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Just when it appeared all the momentum belonged to Northern Kentucky University, Braydon Hobbs and Chris Dowe stepped up in overtime Thursday night and helped Bellarmine squeeze out an 85-77 win over the visiting Norse.
Hobbs scored seven of his 27 points in overtime, while Dowe added seven of his 10 points in the extra session. Dowe, in fact, hit a 3-pointer to begin the overtime period and give the Knights a lead they would not relinquish.
NKU forced overtime when
David Palmer drained a 3-pointer with 6.7 seconds left in regulation. Bellarmine had owned a 64-60 lead with just 22 seconds remaining, but
Dennis Gagai buried a 3-pointer to bring NKU within 64-63 with 15 seconds left.
Hobbs made a pair of free throws to extend the Bellarmine lead to 66-63 with 13 seconds left, setting the stage for Palmer's tying 3-point shot from the top of the key. Dowe threw up a wild, off-balance desperation shot from the right side that missed as time expired in regulation, and NKU appeared to have stolen the momentum.
Bellarmine, however, was 10-for-12 at the free-throw line in overtime and did not miss a shot (4-for-4) from the field. The Knights (17-7 overall, 10-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference) finished at 58.7 percent from the field for the game and 24-for-32 from the charity stripe.
Palmer led NKU (13-11 overall, 6-9 GLVC) with 26 points and was 9-for-10 from the field. The 6-foot-9 senior center made all three of his 3-point attempts. Gagai made five 3-pointers and added 21 points for the Norse, who shot 50.9 percent from the field.
Chris Knight added 14 points for NKU, while teammate
Corey Sorrell scored 12 points. The Norse were 10-for-22 from 3-point range and won the rebounding battle by a 27-25 margin.
NKU concludes the road trip Saturday by meeting nationally ranked Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro. The Panthers enter Saturday's game ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Division II national poll.
NKU has beaten Kentucky Wesleyan 12 consecutive times during the past six years.
