NKU's David Palmer (34) scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday.
Box score
RENSSELAER, Ind. –
David Palmer scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday afternoon to lead Northern Kentucky University to a 62-53 win against Missouri S&T in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
Palmer also blocked three shots for NKU, which improved to 16-12 overall. The Norse won despite shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and advanced to meet Saint Joseph's (17-10) at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner of Sunday's game earns a trip to the GLVC Tournament semifinals next weekend at Springfield, Ill.
The 6-foot-9 Palmer, who was named to the All-GLVC first team on Friday, now has eight double-doubles this season. NKU, the defending GLVC Tournament champion, extended its winning streak to three with the victory.
Ethan Faulkner and
Scott Bibbins each scored nine points for NKU, while teammate
Tony Rack added eight points. The Norse finished with 19 assists on their 20 field goals, with Bibbins, Faulkner and
Dennis Gagai each dishing out five assists.
NKU built a 12-point lead in the first half, but Missouri S&T (7-21) used a 14-5 run to cut the Norse advantage to 37-34 at the break. NKU built a 44-34 lead early in the second half on a 3-pointer by
Corey Sorrell, but Missouri S&T responded with a 6-0 run to make it a four-point game (44-40) with 11:06 left.
Palmer drew a foul and converted a pair of free throws to extend NKU's lead to 46-40. Sorrell later made one of two free throws, and Rack then buried a 3-pointer to give the Norse a 50-40 advantage.
NKU remained perfect (6-0) in the all-time series with Missouri S&T. Earlier this season, NKU posted a 72-54 win against the Miners in Highland Heights, Ky.
