NKU's Jalen Billups (21) finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Box score
SOMERS, Wis. –
Ethan Faulkner scored 15 points and dished out seven assists as Northern Kentucky University posted a 77-65 victory at Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.
Jalen Billups added 14 points and eight rebounds for NKU, which improved to 17-4 overall, 9-4 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Norse, ranked 15th nationally in the Division II poll, shot 58.5 percent from the field.
Faulkner and Billups each shot 6-for-8 from the field, while teammate
Chad Jackson finished with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Wisconsin-Parkside (8-13 overall, 1-12 in the GLVC) jumped out to a 13-7 lead, but Jackson scored six straight points to start a 16-2 NKU run that gave the Norse a 23-15 advantage. Billups capped the spurt by tipping in a missed shot.
By halftime, Jackson had netted 13 points and NKU owned a 39-31 lead. Billups added seven points in the opening half.
NKU led by as many as 15 points in the second half and cruised to the key road win.
Eshaunte Jones finished with 13 points for NKU, which owns a 26-8 lead in the all-time series with Wisconsin-Parkside. Jones knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second half and finished 3-for-7 from behind the arc.
DeAndre Nealy collected three blocked shots and upped his season total to 57 rejections. The all-time NKU single-season record for blocked shots is 73, set by Patrick Holt during the 1985-86 campaign.
The Norse have defeated the Rangers three straight times in DeSimone Gymnasium and are 10-6 all-time in that facility. Leneal Harris scored 19 points to lead the Rangers, who shot 46 percent from the field.
NKU returns home and will meet Indianapolis at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. At halftime of Thursday's game, NKU will recognize the 1971-72 men's basketball squad, which was the first varsity team in school history. This past Nov. 12 marked the 40th anniversary of the first-ever basketball game for then-Northern Kentucky State College.
