NKU's Eshaunte Jones (40) grabs a rebound against Ohio Midwestern.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University puts its unbeaten record on the line Sunday when Urbana visits The Bank of Kentucky Center at 5 p.m.
NKU is 7-0 and ranked No. 23 in the NCAA Division II national poll. Urbana enters Sunday with a 2-4 record.
The two teams met last month in Urbana, Ohio, and NKU posted a 95-74 victory against the Blue Knights. The Norse own a 6-0 lead in the all-time series.
AT HOME IN THE BOKC: NKU is perfect (23-0) all-time against non-conference opponents in The Bank of Kentucky Center. The Norse are 43-5 all-time in The Bank of Kentucky Center, with all five losses coming against Great Lakes Valley Conference foes. Bellarmine (twice), Southern Indiana, Quincy and Wisconsin-Parkside have defeated NKU in the 9,400-seat arena, which opened in 2008.
BEAR FROM LONG RANGE: Eshaunte “Bear” Jones scored a career-high 25 points to lead NKU to a 96-52 win over Ohio Midwestern on Tuesday night. Jones was 7-for-8 from 3-point range and led a Norse outside attack that finished 13-for-24 from behind the arc.
Jones averages 12.7 points per game and is 18-for-28 (.643) from 3-point range this season.
ASSIST BY JACKSON: Chad Jackson dished out a career-high 10 assists and added eight points, six rebounds and four steals against Ohio Midwestern. The sophomore guard leads NKU with 39 assists and 14 steals.
MOTOR CITY REJECTOR: NKU's
DeAndre Nealy blocked four shots against Ohio Midwestern, bringing his season's total to 20. Nealy, a native of Detroit, averages 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and he is shooting 64.8 percent from the field.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST URBANA: Earlier this season on Nov. 21, Nealy scored 18 points and tied a school record by blocking eight shots to lead NKU to a 95-74 win at Urbana. The 6-foot-6 senior added nine rebounds while tying NKU's single-game blocked shots record, which is also shared by Patrick Holt, Gary Woeste and Leslie Malone.
Jackson finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE HISTORY: Craig Conley owns the only triple-double in Norse history, having accomplished that feat against Lewis on Feb. 3, 2001, with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
UP NEXT: NKU takes next week off for exams and resumes play Dec. 18 with a home game against Salem International at 5 p.m.
