Posted on by jeffrey9910

The game started much the same way as the previous two games for Louisville as Northern Kentucky jumped out to a 14 point 45-31 lead. “That first half was a disaster,” said head coach Sam Fisher “we made some changes during the half that allowed us to come back in the second half.” One of those changes was moving senior shooting guard Tate Kincade to point guard.

The Cardinals shot 45% from the field in the first half compared to Northern Kentucky shooting 63%. The Cardinals again shot horribly from beyond the arc in the first half, just 1-of-7 for 14% compared to 5-of-10 for the Norse.

Senior guard Mark Gordon dominated the first half for NKU, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while going 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals started double-teaming Gordon in the second half and held him to just two points in the half to finish the game with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. Senior center Tony White scored eight points of the bench in the first half.

In the first half for Louisville senior forward Derek Walters and junior center Tevis Austin scored six points. Four of the points for Walters came via the free throw line and Austin went a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.

After the halftime adjustments, Kincade scored all 13 of his points in the second half going 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc while grabbing four rebounds with two assists. Freshman power forward Ricky Clark scored 12 points. Clark went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Junior small forward Paul Levy, junior center Tevis Austin and senior center Duany Johnson all scored 10 points off the bench.

For the Norse, White and Gordon led the way with 12 points each. White also grabbed four rebounds. Senior center Parker Jackson got his first double-double of the season, scoring 11 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Sam Fishers’ old team, the Kent State Golden Flashes headed to the KFC Yum! Center having lost both games they had played this season, 75-68 to Michigan State and 69-68 in overtime to Stamford. The Cardinals came in as 11.5-point favorites.

The Cardinals shot 65% from the field to jump out to an 18-point 62-44 halftime lead. Senior point guard Tate Kincade led the way with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Kincade also grabbed two rebounds. Freshman forward Ricky Clark added 11 points with five of those coming from the free throw line as he converted on five of his six attempts. Clark also grabbed three rebounds.

Senior small forward David Ashman was the only Golden Flash to score double-digit points in the first half, scoring 10 points. Ashman went 5-of-7 from the field with four rebounds and two assists. Freshman shooting guard Winston Arden and senior center Chris Winston both scored six points with two assists.

Louisville led by as much as 35 before picking up the 31-point 108-77 win. Freshman Ricky Clark ended the game with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting while going 8-of-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Cardinals. Kincade since moving to point guard continues to improve game by game as he scored his season-high of 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Kincaide grabbed four rebounds with two assists. Junior guard Maruce Johnson scored his season-high of 16 points off the bench while grabbing three rebounds with two assists.

Ashman scored only five points in the second half but led the Golden Flashes with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, grabbing four rebounds with two assists. Winston and Arden both scored 10 points while each finished the game with a plus-minus of -28.