Red Wolves - IU East

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The final score didn't do the Red Wolves justice.

The Indiana University East men's basketball team fell 77-66 on Dec. 8 at NCAA Division II opponent Northern Kentucky University.

The Red Wolves led with 10 minutes remaining and were down four with two minutes to go, but the Norse made six of eight free throws down the stretch to pull away.

"The game was much closer than the score indicated," IU East coach Mark Hester said. "I'm proud of the guys and the effort they put in."

Added junior guard Tyler Rigby: "It was one of the best games we've played as far as playing all 40 minutes. It's a positive step forward, even though we lost. We can only get better for it.

The contest was an exhibition game for the Red Wolves (6-4), but counted as a regular season game for NKU (5-4).

"I'm disappointed in the loss, but this (NCAA Division II) is a level above us, and it was an exhibition so it doesn't count against us," Hester said.

"And there are a lot of positives we can take from this. Not only the things we did well, but also the things we didn't do well were magnified, so now we have things we can go back and work on in practice."

The Red Wolves likely left Northern Kentucky thinking the NKU nickname - "Norse" - is a Scandinavian term for "scores points in threes."

NKU hurt IU East with both 3-point shots and old-fashioned 3-point plays.

Dennis Gagai made six of NKU's nine 3-point field goals, including a crucial 3-pointer with 2:02 left that made it 71-64 and put the Red Wolves in desperation mode.

The Norse also converted consecutive conventional 3-point plays to regain the lead for good after Rigby (Bryant, Ind./Jay County High School) had converted a four-point play to put IU East ahead 55-53 with 10 minutes remaining.

Gagai finished with 22 points to lead NKU.

"(Gagai) is a Red Wolf killer," Hester said. "This is the second time we've played them, and both times he had huge games."

Gagai had nine points against IU East last season.

Senior guard Bijon Jones (Jackson, Tenn./Southeast Missouri State University) led IU East with 14 points. Rigby added 13. Senior forward Justin Hawkins (Evansville, Ind./Kentucky Wesleyan College) added 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Red Wolves return to action Dec. 12 at Purdue University Calumet. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Richmond time.