Tuesday, December 19, 2000
NKU men find being unbeaten fun
Norse whip Shawnee State 105-68
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — There aren't many places a basketball team can be 10-0 and ranked fourth in the country but still be No. 2 in its own gym.
Such is life at Northern Kentucky University, where the men's basketball team takes its cue from the top-ranked women (7-0), who are defending NCAA Division II national champions and have won 31 consecutive games.
“Hopefully we can get both (titles) this year,” NKU senior guard Craig Conley said.
Monday, the men cruised to a 105-68 home victory over Shawnee State (7-6). NKU led 15-5 after four minutes, 37-14 after 11 minutes.
That's the mark of a veteran team. Six of NKU's 11 players are seniors.
“I saw this back a few years, that it would be a talented group when it got to their senior year,” coach Ken Shields said.
Said Conley: “None of us want to lose, period. That's our goal: 37-0.”
NKU has had nine players average five or more points per game. To prove its balance, look at the totals of its two reserve post players Monday. Carl Mitchell scored 28 points and seven rebounds and Zach Wieber added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NKU is so talented it is redshirting four players this year just because it can.
In recent seasons, NKU was glutted with good guards but lacked inside muscle, often playing four guards at a time. No such imbalance this year, thanks
to two big additions: Todd Clark and Mitchell.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Clark played for the Norse in the 1997 national title game and again the following season. He took two years off from school before returning this year, paying his own way in his final season of eligibility.
“I wanted to get my life back in order and finish school,” Clark said. “This has been extremely enjoyable for me.”
Clark is averaging 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Mitchell is a 6-9, 205-pound forward from Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College. He leads the team in scoring (13.6 avg.), rebounds (7.2) and blocks (2.0).
In his first minute on the court Monday, Mitchell soared for an alley-oop dunk, sank a 3-pointer, blocked a shot and grabbed two rebounds. He made three 3-pointers Monday.
“Carl coming off the bench is a huge spark,” Conley said. “He's hard to guard because of how many different ways he can score.”
Adam Norwell, a 6-6, 205-pound senior from Anderson High, is averaging 9.2 points and 5.0 rebounds and shooting .673 from the floor. The 6-9, 235-pound Wieber (6.4 ppg) is another senior inside.
This isn't a team that needs to make 3-pointers. But it can. The Norse made nine 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes Monday and had 13 in the game.
There's the senior backcourt duo of Conley (La Salle), averaging 11 points, and Brian Lawhon (Sycamore), averaging 6.9 points. Junior guard Craig Sanders (McNicholas) averages 13.5 points.
The Norse suffered a blow Monday, learning senior swingman Jeff McKinley had been declared academically ineligible and will not return to the team. The transfer from Louisville had averaged 6.2 points and shot .595.
As usual, the road out of the Great Lakes Region will be perilous this season. In the national rankings, NKU trails Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals Kentucky Wesleyan (No. 2) and Southern Indiana (No. 3).
The first big test comes Jan. 6 at USI, which doesn't make a return visit to NKU.
SHAWNEE STATE (68) — Martin 7-8 0-0 14, Hall 5-14 3-3 13, Captain 4-11 0-0 10, Fraley 3-6 0-0 7, Hurley 5-11 0-0 13, Sutton 0-3 0-0 0, Frazier 1-2 0-0 2, Griffith 1-1 0-0 3, Fry 0-2 0-0 0, Beckett 3-8 0-2 6. Totals: 29-66 3-5 68.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (105) — Clark 4-9 2-2 11, Sanders 6-9 0-2 14, Norwell 2-5 2-2 6, Conley 2-6 3-4 8, Lawhon 5-6 0-0 1, Schaefer 0-2 2-2 2, Stowers 2-5 0-0 5, Mitchell 11-16 3-4 28, Wieber 7-12 2-5 16, Murphy 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 39-72 14-21 105.
Halftime: NKU, 60-35. 3-point field goals: SS 7-17 (Captain 2-4, Fraley 1-2, Hurley 3-7, Sutton 0-2, Griffith 1-1, Beckett 0-1), NKU 13-26 (Clark 1-2, Sanders 2-4, Conley 1-4, Lawhon 5-6, Stowers 1-3, Murphy 0-1, Mitchell 3-6, Wieber 2-5). Rebounds: SS 34 (Martin, Fraley 7), NKU 40 (Wieber 12). Assists: SS 15 (Beckett 5), NKU 24 (Conley 11).
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NKU men find being unbeaten fun
