By Dan Weber
NKyTribune reporter
Nice job by NKU – both the basketball team and the school’s TV production crew — on Bally Sports Ohio’s telecast of the Norse’s offensive fireworks in a 90-72 win over Milwaukee team in a Truist Arena game Thursday that improved NKU to 10-9 and more importantly, 5-3 in the Horizon League.
Good job also by NKU alum Drew McDonald, an assistant basketball coach at Newport Central Catholic after his career as NKU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,066 points from 2015 through 2019, for his work as TV analyst on the game. He’s a natural with obvious insight into a Norse team he knows well.
On Thursday, McDonald had the chance to expound on the man who seems certain to supplant him at the top of the NKU all-time scoring list, Marques Warrick, whose 21 points, many down the stretch, led the Norse to an important homecourt win after three straight road games. And gives him 1,951 for his career.
NKU’s Marques Warrick (File photo)
With team leader Sam Vinson watching after season-ending ACL surgery, NKU seems to be finding its offensive groove with 46 first-half points, 44 in the second. Which is where grad student Michael Bradley, a San Antonio, Tex., native by way of Mercyhurst, seems to be settling in. The grad student point guard scored 18 points, hitting five of eight from three-point range, with five steals, four assists, three rebounds and no turnovers.
Milwaukee (9-9, 4-3) stayed in the game with its early three-point shooting but eventually ran out of steam, hitting 11 of 36 (30.6 percent) to NKU’s eight of 18 (44.4 percent) for the game.
NKU placed six players in double figures while outscoring Milwaukee 20-5 from the free throw line.
The Norse win in front of a crowd of 3,405, moved the NKU into the Horizon League’s all-important top four spots with a tie for third at 5-3 with Youngstown State with the top four teams earning homecourt playoff games with first-round wins getting them to the semifinals in Indianapolis.
The win, NKU’s seventh in eight home games overall, also set up Saturday’s home game against Green Bay, the league’s most-improved team with 7-2 conference mark, good for a first-place tie with Oakland.
SCORING SUMMARY
MILWAUKEE 41 31—72
N. KENTUCKY 46 44—90
MILWAUKEE (9-9, 4-3 Horizon): Jamison 7-13 5-9 3-3 22, Freeman 7-16 1-9 0-0 15, Pratt 5-13 4-10 0-0 14, Wilson 2-3 0-0 0-0 4, Duffy 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Fields 2-3 0-0 2-4 6, Pullian 2-10 0-6 0-0 4, Stuart 1-1 1-1 0-0 3, Davis 1-2 0-1 0-0 2, Murchison 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Polovic 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS 28-62 11-36 5-7 72.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (10-9, 5-3 Horizon): Warrick 7-16 1-4 6-8 21, Bradley 6-10 5-8 1-2 18, Itejere 6-10 0-0 2-3 14, Robinson 5-9 1-3-1-1 12, Wells 2-4 0-0 6-6 10, Pettus 3-7 1-3 3-4 10, Meyer 1-1 0-0 1-2 3, Israel 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Tchilombo 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 31-58 8-18 20-26 90.
WINSTEL, SHIELDS HONORED SATURDAY
Casey George
Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s banner raising for retired NKU Hall of Fame coaches Nancy Winstel and Ken Shields. Winstel’s banner will be raised t the rafters at the halftime of the NKU-Wright State women’s game that will tip off at 4 p.m. Shields’ banner will be raised at the halftime of the NU-Green Bay game that tips off at 6:30 p.m. As of Thursday evening, just 100 tickets remained in the lower bowl of Truist Arena.
Winstel, NKU’s all-time winningest coach with a 636-214 record, led her teams to national titles in 2000 and 2008 and was national Coach of the Year in 2000. Shields guided NKU to seven 20-win seasons and a program-record 30 wins in 1997 with an NCAA runner-up finish and was national Coach of the Year in 1995.
THOMAS MORE MEN BACK TO WINNING WAYS AGAINST MALONE
With a 68-57 win over Malone Thursday at the Connor Convocation Center, Thomas More improved to 11-7 overall and 6-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. That’s good for the No. 6 spot in the 13-team league in the Saints first year in the NCAA Division II.
Junior guard Casey George led TMU with 19 points, 15 in the second half, while grad student Reid Jolly added 17, 14 in the first half. George also had four rebounds and four assists.
Kyle Ross came on for 12 points and seven rebounds. And guard Wyatt Vieth led TMU with 11 rebounds. Freshman Nathan Dudukovich hit on three three-pointers for nine points.
Thomas More finished with 47.1 percent (24 of 51) from the field with seven of 21 (33.3 percent) from three-point range and 13 of 18 (72.2 percent) from the line.
The Saints, who are 7-2 at home and 4-4 on the road, are back in action, and back on the road, Saturday at Lake Erie College for a 1 p.m. game at Painesville, Ohio.
SCORING SUMMARY
MALONE 29 28—57
THOMAS MORE 30 38—68
MALONE (9-8, 2-7 G-MAC): Etheridge 7-9 4-4 0-0 18, Blair 6-12 1-4 4-4 17, Walker 2-7 1-2 0-0 5, Platt 2-6 1-4 0-0 5, LaRocque 1-3 0-0 0-0 2, Johnson 2-8 0 0 2-2 6, Bruns 2-4 0-1 0-0 4, Wiley 0-1 0-1 0-0 0; TOTALS: 22-50 7-21 6-6 57.
THOMAS MORE (11-7, 6-4 G-MAC): George 7-12 0-1 5-8 19, Jolly 8-13 0-2 1-2 17, Dudukovich 3-10 3-8 0-0 9, Vieth 1-5 1-3 3-4 6, Browne 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Ross 3-6 2-3 4-4 12, Scott 1-3-1-3 0-0 3, Jones 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Howard 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 24-51 7-21 13-18 68.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @dweber3440.
