Box Score (PDF)

DELAND, Fla. – Cole Murray dropped a 26 points on the strength of eight made 3-pointers, both career-records for the sophomore guard, but Northern Kentucky succumbed to Stetson, 85-75, in Atlantic Sun Conference play on Thursday night.
 
"Cole [Murray] gave us a huge lift off the bench tonight," said head coach Dave Bezold. "The unfortunate part is that we didn't stay disciplined and tough on the defensive end of the floor, which cost us this game."
 
Two scoring runs by Stetson (6-15, 1-5 A-Sun) in the first half, put Northern Kentucky (9-12, 3-3 A-Sun) in a 37-27 hole at intermission. Seven unanswered points from the Hatters with just under 13 minutes remaining in the stanza put the Norse down, 15-6. The Hatters further extended their lead to 35-19 with a 10-1 spurt.
 
Murray and Jalen Billups kept NKU within striking distance. The two Norse each tallied 12 points in the frame in completely contrasting styles. Murray found his range from deep, knocking down 4-of-6 from 3-point territory. Billups went 6-for-9 from the floor, with each attempt coming within 10-feet of the hoop. 
 
 
NKU shot just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from the field, including 25 percent (4-of-16) from deep. SU made 51.7 percent (15-of-29) of its field-goal attempts and 50 percent (3-of-6) from long range in the frame.
 
The second-half featured a plethora of small runs by each team. A 4-0 Norse spurt whittled the Hatters lead to three, 65-62, with 5:42 remaining. However, Stetson followed with a 7-0 run of its own.
 
The Norse then scored nine of the next 13 to cut the deficit to five, 76-71, and 2:57 on the clock. Six-straight points from the Hatters over the next minute put the game out of reach for NKU, which fell on the road, 85-75.
 
NKU shot an improved 52.8 percent (19-of-36) from the floor and 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from beyond the arc in the second half, but Stetson countered by shooting 68.2 percent (15-of-22), which included 66.7 percent (2-of-3) from three.
 
Murray connected on 8-of-13 attempts from deep and 9-of-14 in total. His 26 points supplants his previous career-mark of 21 set earlier this season against North Carolina A&T.
 
Billups continued his stretch of strong performances in league play, pouring in 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The junior forward also hauled in a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Kentwan Smith and Brian Pegg paced Stetson with double-doubles. Smith finished with 20 points and 10 boards, while Pegg added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Myles Divine scored 20 points for the Hatters, while Grant Loyoza and Cameron Harvey chipped in 14 and 11, respectively.
 
Northern Kentucky will make the drive to Ft. Myers, Florida, for a Saturday-night tilt with Florida Gulf Coast. Tip-off at Alico Arena is set for 7:05 p.m.