HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Sophomore Lavone Holland came one assist shy of his first career triple double in Northern Kentucky University's home opening 83-71 win over Tiffin.  The Norse improved to 1-1, while the Dragons dropped to 1-2 overall.
 
Holland tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for his near triple double. Several Norse were the beneficiary of Holland's passing, with Jalen Billups scoring 22 points and Cole Murray posting 18.
 
"Our energy increased in the second half and that is more indicative of the style of play we want to demonstrate," said head coach John Brannen. "We made some adjustments at halftime and the guys stepped up in the second half. It's not just about results. It's about getting better. I felt we got better tonight."
 
Billups ignited the Norse with 19 second half points. He made all six of his field-goal attempts and went 7-for-8 at the charity stripe. In the stanza, NKU outscored TU, 54-36.
 
NKU shot 44 percent (26-of-59) from the field while shooting 75.8 percent (25-of-33) from the free throw line. By comparison, Tiffin shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the floor and 60 percent (12-of-20) at the charity stripe.
 
Billups finished the game converting on 7-of-10 field-goal attempts and 8-of-10 from the line. Murray used 4-for-7 shooting from long range to finish the game 7-for-12 from the field.
 
Drew McDonald added in nine points off the bench, and Cole Murray went four for seven from the three point line and helped lead the Norse to victory in the second half.
 
After a slow moving first half of play, NKU trailed Tiffin, 35-29. Murray led the Norse with seven points in the first half. Tony Kynard led Tiffin and all scorers with 10 first half points.
 
Tiffin was led by Khaleal McCormick, who finished with 20 points.
 
Northern Kentucky remains at home for a prime-time showdown against Morehead State with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Saturday night.
 
Norse Notes

• Holland totaled eight points and seven rebounds in the second half to reach his first career double-double, which comes in just his second game as a Norse.
• Billups is now 10-for-14 from the field for 71.4 percent shooting this season. He led the nation in shooting last year at 69.6 percent.
• The Norse's big second half was keyed by 61.5 percent (16-of-26) shooting, including 57.1 percent (4-for-7) from beyond the arc.