NKU's Ethan Faulkner is guarded by USI's Lawrence Thomas.
Box score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - If any good news came out of Northern Kentucky University's last-second 69-68 defeat at Southern Indiana on Saturday, it had to be that the Norse are not likely to ever lose in the Physical Activities Center again.
That's because NKU begins reclassifying to NCAA Division I status next season, and the Norse are leaving the Great Lakes Valley Conference when the 2011-12 campaign ends. As a result, NKU made its final trip to the PAC – a venue in which the Norse have not won a regular-season game since 1994 - on Saturday afternoon.
That did not make the finale in the PAC any less painful for the ninth-ranked Norse, who watched the eighth-ranked Screaming Eagles erase a 12-point deficit in the final 3:43 to pull out the improbable win in the battle of nationally ranked NCAA Division II teams.
Lawrence Thomas made a driving layup with two seconds remaining to give Southern Indiana a 69-68 lead, and NKU, after using a pair of timeouts, turned the ball over on its final possession to seal the Screaming Eagle victory.
NKU has not won a regular-season game in the PAC Arena since Dec. 10, 1994, when the Norse rallied for a 96-90 victory over then-No. 1 Southern Indiana. Since then, NKU has dropped 13 consecutive regular-season games in the PAC Arena to Southern Indiana.
The Norse's last win against Southern Indiana in the PAC Arena came during the 1996 NCAA Division II Tournament, a 99-87 victory in the Great Lakes Region Tournament championship game.
On Saturday, it looked like that streak might end emphatically. NKU built a 19-point lead in the first half and still owned a 65-53 advantage with 3:43 left in the game, but Southern Indiana used a game-ending 16-3 run to pull out the win.
Thomas scored six points in the final 28 seconds, including his winning field goal after
Ethan Faulkner missed a pair of free throws with NKU holding a 68-67 lead with 9.5 seconds left. Kenyon Smith rebounded the second miss, passed the ball to Thomas, who drove in for the winning basket.
Chad Jackson led NKU (15-4 overall, 7-4 Great Lakes Valley Conference) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Faulkner added 13 points and teammate
Jalen Billups scored 10. Billups came off the bench in the first half and powered in eight points as NKU took a 39-24 lead at intermission.
Thomas led USI (16-3 overall, 8-3 GLVC) with 17 points. The Screaming Eagles shot 62.1 percent from the field in the second half and received a pair of clutch 3-pointers from reserve Travis Jones in the final 1:45 to defeat NKU.
NKU shot 63 percent from the field in the first half and finished at 55.6 percent for the game. Three consecutive missed free throws in the final 20 seconds, however, hurt the Norse, who have lost four of their past six games after starting the season 13-0.
Southern Indiana owns a 48-18 lead in the all-time series against NKU. The Screaming Eagles swept the two games last season, including a 63-60 decision in Evansville, Ind.
NKU is 53-129 all-time against nationally ranked opponents, including 0-3 this season.
The Norse visit Romeoville, Ill., on Thursday to meet Lewis.
