The NKU men's basketball team plays host to No. 14 Drury on Thursday night.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team plays host to nationally ranked Drury this Thursday at 7:45 p.m. in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
NKU is 11-10 overall, 4-8 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Drury enters Thursday with a 17-3 overall mark, and the Panthers lead the GLVC West Division with a 10-1 record. Drury is also ranked 14th nationally in this week's NCAA Division II poll.
NKU owns a 4-2 lead in the all-time series against Drury. The Norse are 1-1 against the Panthers at home, with both games having been played in Regents Hall.
TOUGH LOSS: A pair of last-second shots would not fall for NKU last Saturday, and Saint Joseph's escaped with a 57-56 victory over the Norse.
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.
Palmer scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU. The 6-foot-9 senior center averages 17.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game to top the Norse. Palmer is also shooting 53.6 percent from the field and has 37 blocked shots.
GLVC GLANCE: NKU ranks 15th in the latest GLVC statistics in scoring offense with an average of 68.1 points per game. The Norse are second in scoring defense at 65.0 ppg. NKU also ranks 15th in the GLVC in free-throw shooting at .672.
NKU is No. 3 in the GLVC in blocked shots with an average of 3.86 rejections per game.
NKU UNDER BEZOLD: Since
Dave Bezold became head coach in 2004-05, NKU is 81-15 (.844) when scoring 70 points or more. The Norse are 8-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST DRURY: On Jan. 17, 2009,
Dustin Maguire made three 3-pointers in the final 1:05 of regulation to force overtime as NKU rallied from a 13-point deficit to post a 91-86 victory against Drury in Weiser Gym at Springfield, Mo.
Maguire finished with 30 points and made seven shots from 3-point range. Drury held a 61-48 lead with 6:31 remaining and still owned a 68-61 advantage with 1:14 left on the clock, but Maguire took over and buried three consecutive 3-pointers.
Maguire's 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining tied the game at 70-all. Drury missed a last-second attempt, forcing overtime.
Leslie Malone scored while being fouled to begin the extra session. He converted the free throw to give NKU a 73-70 lead.
DeAaron Williams followed with a basket to extend the Norse advantage to 75-70, and Maguire later sealed the win by knocking down another 3-pointer to give NKU an 82-74 lead.
Malone finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots for NKU. Williams added 14 points, while teammate
A'Daeron Duncan finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Billy Finnell came off the bench and added seven points and six assists for NKU. The Norse were 5-for-6 from the field in the overtime and shot 10-for-13 from the free-throw line in the extra session.
