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Northern Kentucky, Thomas More basketball teams prepare for next round in post-season playoffs


The Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team defeated Detroit Mercy, 73-50, in the opening round of the Horizon League women’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at BB&T Arena.

The Norse (21-7) made 10 of 15 field goals in the second quarter to take a 39-20 halftime lead and went on to post their 21st victory of the season, the most for an NKU women’s team since becoming a NCAA Division I member.

The Norse advance to the conference tournament quarterfinals and play Cleveland State (19-7) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Cleveland. The winner will advance to Monday’s conference tournament semifinals at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.

During the regular season, Cleveland State won both games against NKU, including a 59-56 win at home on Feb. 5.

The NKU men’s basketball team got a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament and will play Detroit Mercy in a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Thursday at BB&T Arena.

Detroit Mercy is the only team that has defeated the Norse in their last 14 games, and they did it twice. The Titans won 74-68 in a Feb. 5 game at NKU and completed the regular-season sweep with a 60-52 victory Feb. 18 in Detroit.

NKU (18-11) has won three straight games and is 11-4 on its home court this season. Detroit Mercy (14-14) has won four of its last five games, including a 79-62 victory over Green Bay in a first-round tournament game Tuesday in Detroit.

The winner of the NKU-Detroit Mercy quarterfinal game advances to Indianapolis to play in Monday’s conference tournament semifinals at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The tournament championship is Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the same court.

The Thomas More University men’s and women’s basketball teams will host a first-round series in the NAIA national playoffs on March 11 and 12 at Connor Convocation Center.

Four teams will compete in the men’s and women’s series. Pairings will be announced Thursday. The winners will advance to the NAIA National Championships to be held in Sioux City, Iowa for women and Kansas City, Mo. for men.

In the final NAIA coaches poll, the Thomas More women (26-4) were ranked No. 3 and the men (27-4) were ranked No. 5. Both teams made it to the Mid-South Conference tournament finals with the women winning the championship trophy.


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