Tory Reed against Ohio State

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will begin the regular season at 7:45 p.m. Friday against Michigan Tech University in first round of the 23rd annual John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic in Regents Hall.

NKU will also play Northern Michigan University at 7:45 p.m. Saturday in the two-day event. The pairings for the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic were predetermined this season, switching from the traditional tournament format.

Christian Brothers (Tenn.) University, the fourth team in the event and last season's John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic champion, will meet Northern Michigan at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 and Michigan Tech at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20.

SHOOTING MACHINE: NKU senior guard Mike Kelsey enters the season with 1,130 career points, which ranks 19th in Norse history. Kelsey averaged 16.9 points per game last season and was named second team All-GLVC. During NKU's three exhibition games, Kelsey averaged 19.0 points per contest. He scored 27 points against the University of Kentucky on Nov. 3 in Rupp Arena, poured in 14 against the University of Cincinnati on Nov. 8, and added 16 at Ohio State University on Nov. 9. One of the top outside shooters in Norse history, Kelsey made 83 of 202 three-point attempts last season. Kelsey also set an NKU single-game scoring record last season when he poured in 50 points against the University of Indianapolis on Jan. 2, 2004.

Kelsey, a graduate of Elder High School in Cincinnati, has connected on 206 three-point shots during his career at NKU. He scored in double figures 26 times last season and had eight games of at least 20 points.

SMITH MAKES SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO BASKETBALL: Derek Smith averaged 10.5 ppg in two exhibition games for NKU and appears to have made a smooth transition from the football field to the basketball court. Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, netted 16 points at Ohio State last week and made three three-point shots in that game. Smith is entering his first year on the NKU

Harrison Morton

basketball team. He was an all-state forward while a prep player at Highlands High School and averaged 21 ppg as a senior. He was also named the 9th Region Player of the Year in 1999. Smith scored 2,299 points and pulled down 974 rebounds for Highlands in four years as a varsity starter. He then chose to play football at Kentucky.

MORTON IMPRESSIVE IN EXHIBITION GAMES: NKU freshman forward Harrison Morton, a prep standout from Lexington Catholic High School, averaged 9.7 points during the three exhibition games. He scored 21 points against Cincinnati on Nov. 8 on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. The 6-4 Morton averaged 16.1 ppg, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 steals as a senior at Lexington Catholic, and he was named first team all-state. Morton was also selected to play in the Kentucky-Indiana all-star series this past summer.

REED ROUNDS INTO GAME FORM: NKU senior post player Tory Reed averaged 8.3 ppg during the three exhibition games. Reed, a 6-8 transfer from Division I Charlotte, netted 12 points against Kentucky in his best performance of the preseason.

SCHAPPELL ADDS INSTANT OFFENSE: NKU sophomore guard Kevin Schappell averaged 7.0 points during the final two exhibition games. Schappell scored seven points against Cincinnati, and then added another seven-point performance against Ohio State.

ROWLAND WITH THE ASSIST: NKU senior guard Sean Rowland dished out five assists against Ohio State on Nov. 9 and had just one turnover. A year ago, Rowland led NKU with 152 assists, and he topped the Great Lakes Valley Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.04.

ABOUT MICHIGAN TECH: The Huskies are ranked sixth nationally by Street & Smith's in the NCAA Division II preseason poll. Michigan Tech posted a 22-8 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan Tech is led by 6-9 senior forward Josh Buettner, who has been tabbed as Division II Bulletin's preseason National Player of the Year. Buettner averaged 22.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game a year ago.

Buettner was a Division II All-American last season, and he was also the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Senior guard Jason Marcotte, another All-America candidate

Mike Kelsey

for Michigan Tech, returns to the backcourt after averaging 15.8 ppg last season. He also made 103 three-point shots as a junior. Buettner and Marcotte have led Michigan Tech to a 78-14 record the past three years.

The Huskies played the University of Michigan in an exhibition game during the preseason and dropped a 60-43 decision to the Wolverines. Radayl Richardson led Michigan Tech in that game with 13 points. NKU and Michigan Tech have never played in men's basketball.

ABOUT NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The Wildcats, who posted a 16-12 record in 2003-04, are picked fourth in the GLIAC North Division preseason poll. Northern Michigan lost at Michigan State by a 98-56 score on Sunday. Marco Volcy scored 11 points in that game to lead Northern Michigan. Teammates Ricky Volcy and Jake Suardini each scored 10 points.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHERN MICHIGAN: On March 10, 2000, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region Tournament at Owensboro, Ky., Scott Marston scored 16 points as NKU defeated Northern Michigan, 89-57. NKU connected on 14 of 29 three-point shots in that game and rolled to the victory.

A YEAR AGO IN THE JOHN L. GRIFFIN/LIONS CLUB CLASSIC: On Nov. 22, 2003, Jake Bazeley, Jordan Jeffries and Adam Heitzman combined for 43 points as Christian Brothers defeated NKU, 66-55, in the championship game of the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic. Bazeley finished with a game-high 16 points for Christian Brothers. Jeffries added 14 points and five rebounds, while Heitzman - named the tournament's most outstanding player - scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two blocked shots.

Christian Brothers built a 38-26 halftime lead by shooting 64.3 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Bazeley and Jeffries each scored 10 points before halftime, and Heitzman added nine. NKU cut the lead to 40-37 at the 11:54 mark when Steve Purdon hit a three pointer, but Christian Brothers responded with a 6-0 run to extend its advantage to 46-37. Jesse Rupe led NKU with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and he also added two blocked shots. Rupe was named the tournament's best defensive player. Mike Kelsey added 12 points for the Norse, who made just 32.9 percent of their shots from the field.