 EVANSVILLE, Ind. - A bad water pump that forced a Travel America bus to
the side of the road was a championship omen for Northern Kentucky University
men's basketball head coach
Dave
Bezold . Stranded on the highway en route to the Great Lakes Valley
Conference Tournament on Thursday thanks to a busted water pump, Bezold's Norse
arrived in Evansville a bit late. Bezold laughed about it that afternoon, saying
the last time a bus broke down, his team won a couple of games.This time, NKU did one better, and captured the GLVC Tournament championship. The Norse won the championship Sunday afternoon by steamrolling Bellarmine, 69-47, in the PAC Arena. NKU (24-6) won the GLVC Tournament championship for the first time since 2003 and captured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Norse also gave Bezold his 100th career victory in memorable fashion. 'I was just happy we played well, but winning the GLVC NKU head coach Dave Bezold displays the net after his team's victory on Sunday. NKU players, coaches and support staff pose for pictures after the Norse's 69-47 win against Bellarmine in the GLVC Tournament championship game Sunday. It marked the 100th career victory for NKU head coach Dave Bezold (kneeling in front row on the right). 'We did a great job of moving the ball against their defense, and I didn't think Dustin was going to miss a shot with the way he was knocking them down,' Bezold said. By halftime, NKU owned a 43-22 lead. The Norse led by as many as 28 points in the second half and avenged two regular-season losses to the Knights in resounding fashion. Leslie Malone (6'7''-F) grabbed 15 rebounds and tied a GLVC Tournament record by blocking eight shots. Malone also finished the three-day event with a GLVC Tournament-record 15 rejections. He was also voted as the GLVC Tournament's most outstanding player. 'Skinny controlled the inside with his blocks and rebounding,' Bezold said. 'He was outstanding the entire tournament.' Deaaron Williams (6'5''-F-84) led NKU with 19 points, and Maguire finished with 18. The Norse held Bellarmine to 31.4 percent shooting from the field and connected on 50 percent of their own attempts. NKU was 10-for-17 from 3-point range. The Norse buried nine treys during the first half to take control of the game. NKU will travel to Findlay, Ohio, for the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. Unbeaten Findlay (30-0) is the host for the event, which begins next Saturday. NKU is the No. 3 seed and will meet No. 6 seed Lake Superior State at noon Saturday in the opening round. Courtesy of nkunorse Tournament Final: Northern Kentucky - Bellarmine 69-47 Tournament Semifinals: Northern Kentucky - Rockhurst 67-62 Bellarmine - Southern Indiana 54-50 GLVC All-Tournament MVP: Leslie Malone GLVC All-Tournament Team Leslie Malone of Northern Kentucky Dustin Maguire (6'5''-G-87) of Northern Kentucky Justin Benedetti (6'4''-G) of Bellarmine Jamar Smith (6'3''-G-87) of Southern Indiana Aaron Hill (6'1''-G) of Rockhurst
Brandon Dagans (6'1''-G) of Lewis Lavontay Fenderson (6'4''-F-85) of UW-Parkside Chartrael Hall (6'2''-G) of Bellarmine Aaron Hill of Rockhurst Jamar Smith of Southern Indiana All-GLVC 2nd Team Chris Ijames of Drury Dustin Maguire of Northern Kentucky Leslie Malone of Northern Kentucky Anthony Pimble (6'6''-F-85) of Southern Indiana T.J. Smith (6'2''-G) of Kentucky Wesleyan All-GLVC 3rd Team Billy Baptist (6'5''-F) of Quincy Justin Brock (6'8''-F-88) of Quincy Phillip Collins (6'3''-G) of Saint Joseph's Jason Genova (6'6''-F) of Lewis Braydon Hobbs (6'5''-G) of Bellarmine Brandon Mayse (6'7''-F) of Saint Joseph's Keith Radcliff (6'1''-G-86) of Indianapolis Brandon Russ (6'8''-F) of Southern Indiana Alden Smith (6'5''-F) of Rockhurst Deaaron Williams of Northern Kentucky GLVC Player of the Year: Aaron Hill of Rockhurst GLVC Freshman of the Year: Braydon Hobbs of Bellarmine GLVC Coach of the Year: Bill O'Connor of Rockhurst | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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