Mike Kelsey

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will close out the regular season this week with home games against Quincy (Thursday at 7:45 p.m.) and Missouri-St. Louis (Saturday at 3:15 p.m.).

Both games can be heard live on the radio on WIOK (107.5 FM). Saturday’s game against Missouri-St. Louis will be televised live on ICN-Channel 6.

NKU is 11-13 overall after posting a 72-66 win at Lewis last Saturday. The Norse are 7-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and have clinched a berth in the upcoming GLVC Tournament. Pairings and times for the GLVC Tournament will be announced this Sunday.

The Norse are in seventh place in the GLVC standings, but with Kentucky Wesleyan ineligible for the GLVC Tournament, NKU is currently sixth as far as seeding for that eight-team event. The GLVC Tournament will begin March 3 at Evansville, Ind., in Roberts Stadium.

KELSEY SHOOTS NKU PAST LEWIS: Mike Kelsey scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half last Saturday as NKU defeated Lewis, 72-66, at the Neil Carey Arena.

Pat Cary added 18 points and eight rebounds for NKU. Cary scored 11 points in the first half as NKU forged a 32-32 tie at the break. After Lewis took a 44-43 lead on a jumper by Steve Turner, NKU responded with an 8-0 run to take a 51-44 advantage on a three-pointer by Kelsey with 11:25 left in the game.

NKU led the remainder of the game and converted 13 of its 17 free throws in the second half to pick up the road victory. Lewis closed to within 69-66 with 13 seconds left on a tip-in basket by Branden Hunter, but Cary made one of two free throws to give NKU a 70-66 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Kelsey then stole a pass and was fouled, and he sealed the win by sinking two free throws with three seconds left. The senior guard made four three-pointers in the game and also had three steals.

MOVING UP THE SCORING LIST: Kelsey now ranks eighth in NKU history with 1,511 career points. He moved past both Paul Cluxton and Craig Conley on the Norse all-time scoring list Saturday and needs only 23 points to pass Shawn Scott (1,533 points) for seventh place.

KELSEY EXTENDS STREAK: Kelsey enters Thursday having scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games. The senior guard leads NKU in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and he has also made a team-leading 64 three-point shots.

ROWLAND WITH A PERFECT 10: NKU senior guard Sean Rowland dished out 10 assists against Lewis on Saturday. The senior guard ranks sixth in the GLVC in assists per game (4.64 apg) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.62.

CARY REMAINS CONSISTENT: NKU senior center Pat Cary has scored in double figures in five straight games and seven of his past eight contests. For the season, he averages 10.4 ppg and 4.5 rebounds. Cary is also shooting 53.8 percent from the field and leads the team with 23 blocked shots.

AT HOME THIS SEASON: NKU is 7-5 in Regents Hall this season. The Norse are 3-5 against GLVC teams at home this season.

THE LAST TIME AGAINST QUINCY: Earlier this season on Jan. 29, Jordan Roth converted a layup off a steal with 4.7 seconds left in the game to give Quincy an improbable 75-74 win over NKU in the Pepsi Arena at Quincy, Ill.

After Cory Cummens made one of two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to cut the Norse lead to 74-73, NKU inbounded the basketball. Sean Rowland’s pass in the backcourt was stolen, however, and Roth drove in for an uncontested layup to give Quincy a 75-74 lead with 4.7 seconds left.

NKU had a final chance, but Mike Kelsey’s jumper was off target at the buzzer. Quincy scored 15 points in the final 1:49 of the game to pull out the victory. The Norse held a 64-52 lead with 5:26 remaining, but Quincy closed the game with a 23-10 run.

Kelsey led NKU with 29 points, and the senior guard made seven three-point shots. He scored 15 points in the first half as NKU built a 40-33 lead at the break.

Phil Gettinger led Quincy with 19 points, including eight in the final minute. Cummens finished with 17 points, and Roth scored 16.

NKU leads the all-time series with Quincy by a 16-3 margin. NKU is 8-0 all-time against the Hawks in Regents Hall.