After 25-year series hiatus, NKU plays host to EKU at 6 p.m. Sunday at BB&T Arena; coaches show Monday

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

It’s been 25 years since Northern Kentucky University and Eastern Kentucky University have met on the basketball court, but the series hiatus will end Sunday at 6 p.m. when the Colonels visit BB&T Arena for an in-state showdown with the Norse.

NKU and Eastern Kentucky have not played since Dec. 2, 1992, when the Colonels posted an 81-71 victory against the Norse in Richmond. Eastern Kentucky owns a 5-2 lead in the all-time series with NKU. Six of those seven previous meetings were played in Richmond.

Eastern Kentucky is currently 4-5 after suffering a 74-62 loss at Oregon State on Tuesday night. The Colonels feature three players scoring in double figures, led by junior center Nick Mayo’s 18.1 points per game. Mayo, a 6-foot-9 center and two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference first-teamer, also averages 8.4 rebounds per contest and has 18 blocked shots. The versatile big man also leads Eastern Kentucky with 26 assists.

Freshman guard Dedric Boyd is scoring 15.7 points per game and leads Eastern Kentucky in 3-pointers made with 14. Sophomore forward DeAndre Dishman averages 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest. Eastern Kentucky brings A.J. Youngman (13-for-30 from 3-point range) off the bench for perimeter shooting, and he averages 5.0 points per game.

NKU enters Sunday’s game with a 6-3 record following an 84-71 loss at East Tennessee State on Wednesday night. ETSU shot 59.6 percent from the field to defeat NKU and avenge an early-season loss to the Norse.

Junior forward Drew McDonald, who averages 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, picked up two early fouls in the loss at ETSU and spent most of the first half on the bench. He scored all 10 of his points in the second half and grabbed a team-leading six rebounds. McDonald has made 85.2 percent of his free throws, which is fourth in the Horizon League.

Senior guard Lavone Holland II is tied with McDonald for the team lead in scoring at 14.4 points per contest. Holland II, who dishes out 5.0 assists per game (No. 2 in the Horizon League), enters Sunday with 938 career points at NKU. He also leads the Horizon League in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5 (45 assists, 18 turnovers).

Sophomore forward Carson Williams is scoring 14.2 points per contest. He leads the Horizon League in field-goal percentage, having made 68.4 percent of his attempts from the floor. Williams poured in 22 points against ETSU on 10-of-13 shooting from the field.

NKU COACHES SHOW: The 2017-18 NKU Basketball Coaches Show, hosted by Rickman’s Sports Café, is set to tip off its nine-show schedule this Monday (Dec. 11) from 7-8 p.m. The show will air live on ESPN 1530.

Jim Kelch and Steve Moeller will speak with men’s basketball head coach John Brannen, while Norse alumni Andrew Kappes will sit down with women’s basketball coach Camryn Whitaker.

During the broadcast, Dickmann’s will have drink specials available. Located on Orphanage Road in Ft. Wright, which is accessible off of Exit 80 on I-275, Dickmann’s Sports Café is the Northern Kentucky community’s No. 1 sports bar and features more than 50 televisions to go along with a full-service bar and food.

Through Norse Sports Properties, a three-year partnership exists between Dickmann’s and NKU Athletics to serve as host of the coaches show and as the official Norse watch party location. In addition to the NKU Basketball Coaches Show, Dickmann’s is the place for Norse fans to unite prior to and following all home games, as well as televised road games.

Dickmann’s also shows NKU sporting events that are broadcasted on television or the ESPN3 platform, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, and volleyball on their screens.

NKU Basketball Coaches Show Schedule
Monday, Dec. 11, 7-8 p.m./ESPN 1530
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 6-7 p.m./ESPN 1530
Monday, Jan. 8, 7-8 p.m./FOX Sports 1360
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 6-7 p.m./ESPN 1530
Monday, Jan. 22, 7-8 p.m./FOX Sports 1360
Monday, Jan. 29, 7-8 p.m./FOX Sports 1360
Monday, Feb. 5, 7-8 p.m./ESPN 1530
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 6-7 p.m./ESPN 1530
Monday, Feb. 26, 7-8 p.m./ESPN 1530

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com