Malcolm Eleby prepares to score against Saint Joseph's in the first half.
Box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –
Malcolm Eleby scored 19 points and dished out five assists as Northern Kentucky University posted a 68-59 win against Saint Joseph's on Thursday night.
Eleby also grabbed eight rebounds and added three steals for NKU, which improved to 15-4 overall, 8-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Eleby, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from Philadelphia, Pa., netted 14 points in the second half as NKU held off the visiting Pumas.
Chris Knight added all 15 of his points in the first half for NKU, which built a 30-15 lead with five minutes remaining before intermission. Saint Joseph's, however, closed the half with a 7-0 run to cut the NKU lead to 30-22 at the break.
Saint Joseph's would not go away in the second half, and the Pumas trailed by just three points (50-47) with 5:24 left in the game after a basket by Jon Smith. Eleby then converted a layup to extend NKU's lead to 52-47.
After Saint Joseph's Jordan Stevens made one of two free throws to make it 52-48,
Dennis Gagai drained a 3-pointer – NKU's only trey of the game – to give the Norse a 55-48 cushion. NKU eventually pulled ahead by 12 points and coasted to the victory.
Josh Tabb finished with 14 points and three assists as the Norse held Saint Joseph's (9-10 overall, 5-6 GLVC) to just 36 percent shooting from the field. NKU was 1-for-13 from 3-point range, compared to the 9-for-23 shooting by Saint Joseph's behind the arc.
Erik Stenger finished with seven points and six rebounds for NKU, which won the battle of the boards by a whopping 48-25 margin.
James Cotton added six points off the bench for the Norse, who are now 38-20 all-time against Saint Joseph's.
Bobby Shannon pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and added three steals as NKU won for the seventh time in the past eight games.
Cory Hrynyk scored 15 points to lead Saint Joseph's, which played without double-figure scorers Phillip Collins and Marcus Jackson. NKU also held Saint Joseph's guard Dayvon Sloan, who entered the game averaging 13.5 points per contest, scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting from the field.
NKU concludes the two-game homestand Saturday against Illinois-Springfield at 5:15 p.m. The Norse are 1-0 all-time against the Prairie Stars.
