Northern Kentucky University Athletics

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ST. LOUIS – Technically speaking, Northern Kentucky University gave this one away. And as a result, the Norse were eliminated from the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in Friday's quarterfinals.

Anthony Young made a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime after a technical foul had been assessed to NKU, giving Kentucky Wesleyan a 91-89 victory on Friday. The Panthers eliminated NKU from the GLVC Tournament for the second straight season and advanced to meet top-seeded Bellarmine in the semifinals on Saturday.

With the score tied at 89-all and 1.4 seconds left on the clock, NKU had possession of the ball at midcourt with no timeouts remaining. Ethan Faulkner attempted to inbound the ball, but when no teammates broke open, he called a timeout.

NKU was assessed the technical foul, and Young stepped to the line and made both free throws to give Kentucky Wesleyan a 91-89 lead. NKU retained possession and had a final chance, but two defenders blocked Dennis Gagai's desperation attempt as time expired.

Young finished with a career-high 36 points for Kentucky Wesleyan, which improved to 19-8 and avenged two regular-season losses to NKU. The Panthers rallied from an 89-85 deficit in the final 21 seconds to pull out the victory. Young buried a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to tie the game at 89-all.

NKU missed four free throws in the final 34 seconds, giving Kentucky Wesleyan a chance.

“We gave this one away,” NKU head coach Dave Bezold said. “We didn't step up and make free throws. Ethan made a big mistake with the timeout, but it would have never come to that if we had made free throws late in the overtime.”

Bobby Shannon scored a career-high 23 points for NKU, which dropped to 20-8 overall. Josh Tabb added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Norse, who shot 53.7 percent from the field.

Shannon's 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining in regulation gave NKU a 76-73 lead. Chris Williams, however, tied the score at 76-all by hitting a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left. Shannon attempted to win the game with a jumper in the closing seconds of regulation, but the shot was off target.

Malcolm Eleby finished with 16 points and five assists for NKU, while Gagai and Faulkner each scored 10. The Norse were 24-for-37 from the free-throw line, but they shot just 4-for-8 during the overtime.

Pairings for the NCAA Division II Tournament will be announced Sunday night. NKU is fourth in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll, and the Norse are expected to receive a berth.

The top eight teams in the poll receive berths to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Automatic berths go to the champions of both the GLVC and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.