NKU tied the school record for best start (13-0) to a season Thursday.
Box score
ROLLA, Mo. – On an evening in which they tied a school record for best start to a season, the Norse of Northern Kentucky University also shattered a defensive mark during a 62-36 win at Missouri S&T.
The unbeaten Norse (13-0) held Missouri S&T to just eight points in the first half, topping the previous school record of 13 points NKU allowed to Gannon (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 2009. The NKU defense surrendered just three first-half field goals to the Miners and forced 12 turnovers by the break.
Jon Van Hoose scored 20 points to lead No. 8 NKU, which tied the 2000-01 team's 13-0 start. Van Hoose made six 3-pointers for the Norse, who finished 9-for-22 from behind the arc.
DeAndre Nealy added 10 points and five blocked shots for NKU. Nealy rejected four Miner shots in the first half as the Norse built a 29-8 lead at the break.
NKU held Missouri S&T (2-12 overall, 1-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference) to just three field goals in the first half and 17.6 percent shooting from the field. The Miners jumped out to a 4-3 lead with 16:43 left in the opening half, then went more than 14 minutes without a field goal.
By the time Filmore Bouldes snapped the Miner field-goal drought with a basket, NKU owned a 26-8 lead. Van Hoose made it a 29-8 Norse advantage by drilling a trey to close out the first-half scoring.
NKU, now 5-0 in the GLVC, improved to 8-0 all-time against Missouri S&T. Michael Jackson led the Miners with 10 points.
A week ago, Missouri S&T upset then-No. 2 Southern Indiana on the road in Evansville, Ind.
NKU plays at Drury on Saturday with a chance to set the school record for best start to a season. The 2000-01 NKU squad suffered a 90-75 loss at Southern Indiana after rolling off 13 straight wins.
The longest winning streak in Norse history is 16, set during the 1994-95 season.
NORSE NOTES: The fewest points ever allowed by an NKU men's basketball team is 30, set against Franklin (Ohio) on Jan. 28, 1984, during a 79-30 win...the 36 points scored by Missouri S&T on Thursday night were the fewest against NKU during the shot-clock era, which began in 1985-86.
