CINCINNATI – A career-high 25 points from senior Tyler White on Monday night helped the Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team challenge crosstown rival No. 23 Xavier in a 78-66 setback at the Cintas Center Monday evening.

White reached his career mark after an 8-of-9 performance from the free throw line and 7-of-16 shooting from the floor, including three treys.

White was joined in double-figure scoring by Lavone Holland with 11 points. Holland also registered a team-high five assists and eight boards, including seven on the defensive end.

Northern Kentucky (1-3) trailed Xavier (4-0) at the half, 44-35, after NKU was aggressive from the perimeter, shooting 7-of-15 from three-point range, with its seven threes coming from six different players.

Trailing 19-12 at the 14:10 mark, a trio of Norse connected from long range as NKU held the Musketeers to a single field goal for over three minutes. The treys from Brennan Gillis, Todd Johnson and Cole Murray brought NKU within one of Xavier at 22-21 with 11:21 to play in the first half.

After a Drew McDonald kept it a one-point game at the 10:05 mark, the Musketeers responded with 10-straight points, expanding their lead to 34-23 with 6:03 on the clock. The run included five points from the free throw line to help the Musketeers hold a nine-point advantage at the intermission.

Upon returning to the court, NKU struggled to connect from the floor with Xavier taking a 59-43 lead through the first portion of the second half.

White helped close the gap with six uninterrupted points beginning with a triple at the 3:29 mark. The senior then hit four free throws to cut the Musketeer lead to 74-65 with 2:12 to play.

However, the Norse's late push would fall short as Xavier totaled four points from the charity stripe and held NKU without a field goal throughout the remainder of the game.
The Norse return to action in one week when they travel to Greensboro, North Carolina to take on North Carolina A&T Monday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.

NORSE NOTES:

• White's previous career-high of 24 points came against Morehead State on Dec. 19, 2014.
• Holland is averaging double-digits in scoring to start the season. The sophomore guard also averages a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.
• Six different Norse connected on three-pointers in the game, converting 9-of-22 attempts (40.9 percent).