Jan. 31, 2008

Box Score

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A career-high 24 points from freshman Dennis Thomas, Jr. wasn't enough for the Flyers in a tough 74-68 loss to first-place Northern Kentucky, Thursday evening in a Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division game.

The Flyers (13-5, 6-4) were paced by a double-double effort of 13 points and 11 rebounds from senior Stephan Bolt in the first half and headed into the break up six points. But three Flyer turnovers in the opening minutes of the second half opened the door for the Norse.

A 3-pointer by Mark Hawkins put the Norse up 47-45 with 13:57 left to play, and crisp free-throw shooting down the stretch helped the home team hold the lead the rest of the way. After going 2-for-3 at the foul line in the first half, the Norse hit 13-of-15 in the second half, including 6-of-6 during the game's final 45 seconds.

By comparison, the Flyers went 6-of-6 at the line in the second half after a 5-of-5 first half performance at the charity stripe.

Thomas, Jr. reached a career high in scoring for a third straight game. He scored 13 of his 24 in the second half and finished the game 9-of-10 from the field with four treys. He also added six assists and two steals.

Bolt finished with 15 points and 16 boards for his 11th double-double of the season. Junior Jason Genova added 10 points, and freshman Lonnie Lawrence scored eight points.

Harrison Morton and David McFarland led the Norse with 14 points apiece. Northern Kentucky improved from 41.4 percent shooting in the first half to a 54.2 percent clip in the second.

The Flyers look to get back on track on Saturday when they play at Bellarmine at 3 p.m.