#5 Southern Indiana 60, #3 Northern Kentucky 56
2012 SCHEELS GLVC Tournament Central
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.- Five-seed Southern Indiana took a 60-56 win over #3 Northern Kentucky in the 2012 SCHEELS GLVC Men's Basketball Tournament championship, earning the school's third GLVC men's basketball title.
Northern Kentucky (23-6) held a 10-point advantage at the half, 27-17, as the Screaming Eagles (24-6) managed just 21 percent shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes.
A 15-5 run to the first media timeout of the second half put Southern Indiana back in the game, with the score tied 32-32 with 13:38 to play.
Despite a flurry of three-point makes by the Norse in the final minute, including two by Jon Van Hoose, the Screaming Eagles would retain the lead for the rest of the half and take the 60-56 win behind 20 points from GLVC Tournament MVP Isaac McClure.
In addition to McClure's 20, Lawrence Thomas added 16 for USI, with All-Tournament selection Brandon Hogg adding 14.
For Northern Kentucky, Van Hoose's 18 was tops, while Ryan Fleming tallied 10 points off the Norse bench.
The Screaming Eagles earn the GLVC's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division II Championship Tournament, with the rest of the field being announced Sunday evening at 10:20 EST.
2012 SCHEELS GLVC CHAMPIONSHIP ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
USI - Isaac McClure (MVP)
USI - Brandon Hogg
BU - Jeremy Kendle
NKU - DeAndre Nealy
NKU - Eshaunte Jones