No. 16 NKU defeated No. 22 Indianapolis, 77-61.
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Postgame interviews
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Outstanding bench play and even better defense ignited No. 16 Northern Kentucky University's 77-61 victory over No. 22 Indianapolis on Thursday night.
NKU received 40 points from its reserves and held Indianapolis to 35.6 percent shooting from the field to wrap up the season sweep over the Greyhounds.
Tony Rack came off the bench to score 14 points as NKU improved to 18-4 overall, 10-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Ethan Faulkner scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to lead NKU. The junior guard also added four assists and three steals as NKU posted its first win this season over a nationally ranked opponent.
“Indy is a really good team with outstanding players, and we wanted to come out and limit their runs,” Faulkner said. “We had one of our better halves defensively in the second half, and that's why we were able to get this win.”
NKU limited Indianapolis to just 26.5 percent shooting in the second half. NKU used a 15-2 run in the second half to turn a 50-46 lead into a 65-48 advantage with 6:32 remaining. Rack scored seven points to ignite the spurt.
“Indianapolis has some of the best wins in the nation this season, when you consider they beat Southern Indiana twice, knocked off Bellarmine, and later beat Kentucky Wesleyan on the road,” NKU head coach
Dave Bezold said. “It was nice to come back home and play pretty well, not great, but pretty well and get a nice win over an outstanding team.”
NKU senior center
DeAndre Nealy tied a school record by blocking eight shots and increased his season's total to 65 rejections. The all-time NKU single-season record for blocked shots is 73, set by Patrick Holt during the 1985-86 campaign.
Nealy – who earlier this season also blocked eight shots in a win at Urbana - added nine points and four rebounds against Indianapolis, while
Chad Jackson hauled down 10 rebounds as NKU finished with a 40-30 edge on the glass. Stretch Watson added nine rebounds and seven points, while
Ryan Fleming netted eight points in a reserve role.
Adrian Moss poured in a game-high 25 points to lead Indianapolis (16-6 overall, 9-5 GLVC).
NKU is now 37-29 all-time against Indianapolis. The Greyhounds are 0-4 all-time in The Bank of Kentucky Center and have not won in Highland Heights, Ky., since Feb. 12, 2005, when they pulled out an 87-74 decision over NKU in Regents Hall.
NKU plays host to Saint Joseph's at 3 p.m. Saturday.
