Men’s Basketball: Rockhurst rally falls short in GLVC Tournament semifinals
 Rockhurst’s Aaron Hill liked the look he had with his game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Hill's shot failed to drop, ending the Hawks’ rally from nine points down in the closing minute against 15th-ranked Northern Kentucky Saturday in Evansville, Ind.
"It felt good when the shot left my hand. It was the play that we had drawn up," Hill said, whose Hawks fell short 67-62 in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
A pair of free throws by Dustin Maguire with 11 seconds left iced the victory for Northern Kentucky, 23-6. Maguire made 7-of-8 free throws inside the final minute.
Rockhurst trailed 60-51 with a minute left to play. The Hawks scored 11 points in 26 seconds behind three 3-pointers to cut the Norse's lead to 64-62 with 24 seconds left.
"We never quit. We gave our best effort," added Hill, who led the Hawks with 24 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Senior forward Alden Smith contributed 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Tyler Knust came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and finish with 11 points.
"We were tired at the start of the game," said Rockhurst coach Bill O'Connor, as the Hawks fell behind 22-6 in the first half while missing 21 of their first 23 field goals. "We showed good competitive spirit in the second half, but came up short at the end."
On Friday, Smith hit the biggest shot of his college career to help the Hawks advance past the first round of the GLVC Tournament.
 Down one with time running out, Smith banked in a shot in the lane with 2.7 seconds left to give the Hawks a 69-68 victory over Kentucky Wesleyan.
"I just posted my man up and drove to the basket. I knew I got fouled when I put up the shot," said Smith, who proceeded to intentionally miss his free throw to avoid an inbounds play in the final two seconds.
Smith led the Hawks with 16 points. He scored eight points down the stretch to help Rockhurst rally from a 59-52 deficit in the final six minutes.
"We just kept our poise at the end of the game," added Smith. "We tightened up our defense and rebounding, and the offense took care of itself."
Hill, the GLVC’s Player of the Year, finished with 15 points and four assists. Senior center Brent Thome added 10 points and senior forward Drew Martin led the Hawks with seven rebounds.
Box Score: No. 15 Northern Kentucky 67, Rockhurst 62
Box Score: Rockhurst 69, Kentucky Wesleyan 68
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