NKU is 13-1 overall going into Monday night's game at Bellarmine.
Mon., Jan. 16
Louisville, Ky. – Knights Hall (3,000)
#8 NKU (13-1, 5-1 GLVC) at #3 Bellarmine (13-1, 5-1 GLVC), 8 p.m.
NKU Radio/Internet: WQRT (1160 AM) & www.nkunorse.com
Series Record: NKU leads, 43-35
Last Meeting: BU 87, NKU 82 (3-13-11, NCAA regional semifinal)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A showdown with conference, regional and national implications takes place Monday night when Northern Kentucky University meets Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky.
The opening tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Knights Hall. NKU is ranked No. 8 nationally in the Division II poll, while Bellarmine is No. 3.
NKU enters Monday's showdown with a 13-1 overall record, and the Norse are 5-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Bellarmine, the defending NCAA Division II national champion, is 13-1 overall, 5-1 GLVC.
SPOTLIGHT GAME: This marks the first time this season NKU has played a team ranked in the national poll. The Norse are 53-126 all-time against nationally ranked opponents.
A year ago, NKU was 2-6 against teams in the national poll. Three of those losses were to Bellarmine.
THE SERIES: NKU owns a 43-35 lead in the all-time series against Bellarmine, but the Knights have beaten the Norse five consecutive times. Bellarmine, in fact, has won seven of the past eight meetings with NKU.
The Norse's last win over Bellarmine came during the GLVC Tournament championship game on March 8, 2009, a 69-47 victory against the Knights in Evansville, Ind.
NKU is 20-20 all-time in Knights Hall against Bellarmine. The Norse are 22-15 at home, and 1-0 on neutral floors.
STREAK ENDS: After tying the school record for best start with 13 consecutive wins, NKU suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, 83-72 at Drury.
FOUL PLAY: Drury denied the Norse's bid for a 14th consecutive win by making 37 free throws in 51 attempts en route to Saturday's upset. The 51 free throws were the most ever attempted by an NKU opponent, topping the 50 taken by Southern Indiana on March 1, 1997. Southern Indiana was 33-for-50 in that game, a 116-111 overtime win over NKU in the PAC Arena.
THE LAST TIME AGAINST BELLARMINE: On March 13, 2011, Bellarmine placed four players in double figures, built an 18-point lead in the second half and held on for an 87-82 victory against NKU in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinals in Knights Hall. The top-seeded Knights defeated the fourth-seeded Norse for the third time en route to eventually claiming the national title.
Justin Benedetti scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds for Bellarmine. Chris Dowe added 19 points, including three baskets in the final two minutes that extinguished NKU's comeback hopes.
Josh Tabb and
Jon Van Hoose each finished with 21 points for NKU. The Norse fell behind by 18 points with 12 minutes remaining in the game, but Tabb and Van Hoose sparked a 13-2 run that cut the Bellarmine lead to 66-59 with 9:50 left on the clock.
Van Hoose buried a trio of 3-pointers during the run, and Tabb capped the spurt with a jumper in the lane.
Bellarmine eventually pushed its lead to 73-62 with 6:41 left when Benedetti made a jumper, but NKU responded with a Van Hoose 3-pointer and a Tabb conventional three-point play to cut the Knights advantage to 73-68.
With less than a minute remaining,
Bobby Shannon's basket cut Bellarmine's lead to 84-82, but Dowe countered by knocking down a short jumper with 33 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 86-82.
Van Hoose missed a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, and Jeremy Kendle sealed the win by making one of two free throws.
