Northern Kentucky University Athletics

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Desmond Stephens scored 23 points and collected seven steals Saturday night as No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to post an 81-76 win against Northern Kentucky University in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.

Chris Williams and Kwan Waller each added 14 points for Kentucky Wesleyan (29-3), which blew a 16-point lead (33-17) in the first half and fell behind by 10 points with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Dennis Gagai, who scored a game-high 25 points, buried a pair of 3-pointers early in the second half as NKU gained a 57-47 lead.

The Norse still owned a 59-49 advantage with 12:55 remaining after a basket by Chris Knight, but Kentucky Wesleyan countered with a furious rally that produced a game-clinching 22-5 run.

Williams and Waller keyed the Kentucky Wesleyan comeback by draining 3-pointers as the Panthers cut the NKU lead to 64-61 with 8:22 left on the clock. Williams made another jumper to bring the Panthers to within a point (64-63), and Waller hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 64-all.

Stephens then buried a 3-pointer with 6:29 remaining to give Kentucky Wesleyan a 67-64 advantage. Stephens then turned a steal into a fast-break layup to extend the Panther lead to 69-64, and Marico Stinson buried a jumper to cap the 22-5 spurt and give Kentucky Wesleyan a 71-64 advantage.

The Panthers made eight free throws in the final minute, but NKU, trailing 79-76 with 10 seconds remaining, had a final chance to tie the game when Gagai launched a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Gagai's shot was off target and rebounded by Stephens with 4.1 seconds left. Stephens was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win and send Kentucky Wesleyan into the GLVC Tournament championship game.

David Palmer finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots for NKU (17-13), which set a GLVC Tournament record by making all 23 of its attempts from the free-throw line. Scott Bibbins added 12 points and eight assists for the Norse, who were 9-for-22 from 3-point range.

Gagai finished 6-for-12 from 3-point range and grabbed six rebounds for NKU, which will find out Sunday night if it earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

NKU was 10th in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll. The top eight teams earn berths to the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament.

NKU won the GLVC Tournament championship last season at Evansville, Ind., to claim the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Norse have made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.