The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will play its second contest of a three-game road swing when it takes on North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 7 p.m. Monday.
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (1-3 Overall, 0-0 Horizon League)
North Carolina A&T State University Aggies (0-7 Overall, 0-0 MEAC)
Monday, Nov. 30 – 7 p.m. (ET)
Ellis F. Corbett Center (5,700) in Greensboro, N.C.
TV: N/A
Radio: 55KRC (550 AM) with Jim Kelch (Play-by-Play) and Steve Moeller (Analysis)
North Carolina A&T has had a tough start to the season, losing all seven of its games thus far. The Aggies opened the season with blowout losses to Purdue and Florida and followed with a home loss to Division III Roanoke College. Losses to Buffalo, Niagara and Virginia Tech preceded Saturday’s loss at North Dakota State.
The NKU men’s basketball team will play its second contest of a three-game road swing when it takes on North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina, at 7 p.m. Monday (NKU Athletics Photo)
Bruce Beckford is the unquestioned leader for NC A&T, averaging 17.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, which includes a 38-point, 16-rebound effort against Roanoke College. Sam Hunt is second on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game, but has missed two of the last three games, and Jamin Lackey is second in rebounding (3.3 rpg).
Northern Kentucky leads the all-time series, 1-0, after winning last season’s meeting, 68-55, at BB&T Arena. Cole Murray went off for 21 points behind 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, all from behind the arc. Jalen Billups added 13 points and five boards. Bruce Beckford led NC A&T with 19 points and five rebounds. The Norse outshot the Aggies 49-41 percent and never trailed in the contest.
Northern Kentucky never backed down in nationally-televised game at No. 23 Xavier last Monday. Tyler White exploded for a career-high 25 points against the Musketeers, who entered the national rankings earlier in the day following a road thrashing of Michigan. NKU kept the game close early, trailing by just one, 24-23, following a Drew McDonald layin 10-minutes into the game.
XU scored 10-straight before NKU rebounded to pull within four, 39-35. Xavier scored the final four points of the first half and worked to take as much as 17-point lead mid-way through the second stanza. But, the Norse refused to go away. White when on a personal 7-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 74-65, with two minutes remaining. However, Xavier sealed the game at the charity stripe. The Norse forced the Musketeers to shoot just 39 percent for the game and kept pace at 38.6 percent, including 40.9 percent from three.
Fast Break Points
• NKU made No. 23 Xavier uncomfortable all evening in a 78-66 setback in its last outing, falling to 1-3 on the year.
• Northern Kentucky converted 9-of-22 3-point attempts (40.9%) and recorded six blocks against XU.
• Led by Jalen Billups’ 10 swats on the year, NKU is now averaging 5.0 blocks per game.
• Three Norse have led NKU in scoring through the first four games, White (WVU, XU), Billups (Tiffin) & Holland (MSU).
Franson, Roush lead fourth-quarter comeback as Norse top Robert Morris
Career days from Molly Franson and Courtney Roush led a dramatic fourth quarter comeback for the Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team in a 72-70 win over Robert Morris on Sunday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
Franson led the Norse with 16 points, all in the second half, and eight rebounds while Courtney Roush scored 10 points, including six in the fourth quarter. Together, Franson and Roush accounted for 16 of NKU’s 18 fourth-quarter points.
With 5:05 left in the game, Shar’Rae Davis picked up an offensive rebound off a Kelley Wiegman miss and, looking to put it off an RMU player and out of bounds, bounced the ball to Roush for a layup to put the Norse ahead for good.
The basket came in the midst of a 13-2 Norse run spanning 5:36 of the fourth quarter. NKU shot 7-for-10 from inside the arc in the fourth quarter and 46.6 percent (27-for-58) on the game.
Wiegman and Christine Roush each added 12 points for the Norse, all from long range, while Rianna Gayheart added nine points and a season-high seven assists.
The first half was a shootout between the teams, as the Norse and Colonials each shot over 50 percent from the field. NKU was even better from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-12 long-distance shots. A 13-1 RMU run in the first quarter set the tone for the first half, as the Colonials carried a 44-37 lead into halftime.
NKU returns home for a midweek matchup on Wednesday as the Norse entertain SEC power Kentucky. Tip off from BB&T Arena is set for 7 p.m., with the action broadcast live on ESPN3.
NORSE NOTES
· NKU won the battle on the boards, 36-34, marking the fourth time this season the Norse have outrebounded their opposition.
· This is the fifth time NKU has scored 70 or more points. NKU is 4-0 in those games.
· NKU’s 10 made three-pointers are a season high, as are their 22 assists and six blocks on the contest.
From NKU Athletics
