Game Notes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Northern Kentucky men's basketball is back on the hardward Saturday night at North Florida for the second contest of the three-game road trip. UNF won the first meeting of the season, 74-66, back on Jan. 22 despite Chad Jackson providing NKU with 26 points and 12 boards. The Norse are still battling for home-court advantage in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, while the Ospreys have already secured a home game in the quarterfinals.

Northern Kentucky University Norse (11-14 Overall, 5-5 Atlantic Sun)
University of North Florida Ospreys (17-11 Overall, 9-2 Atlantic Sun)
Sat., Feb. 21 - 7:00 p.m. (ET)
UNF Arena (5,800) in Jacksonville, Fla.
TV: ESPN3 with Brent Martineau (play-by-play) and Lee Moon Jr. (analysis)
Radio: FOX Sports 1360 (AM) with Jim Kelch (play-by-play) and Steve Moeller (analysis)

Fast Break Points

• Tayler Persons' 2nd-straight double-double wasn't enough firepower as NKU fell, 83-75, in OT at Jacksonville.
• NKU rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to force overtime after shooting 59.3 percent in the 2nd. NKU also outrebounded JU, 44-32.
• The Norse dropped the first matchup against North Florida, 74-66, despite 26 points and 12 boards from Chad Jackson.
• NKU is second overall in the A-Sun in shooting (45.4%) and turnovers (11.8). In A-Sun games, NKU leads the league in shooting (46.3%).
• In A-Sun play, NKU has been held below 40% shooting in just one game and has held four adversaries to less than 40% (Upstate, FGCU, Lipscomb, Stetson).
• Three Norse are averaging double-digits in A-Sun play, Billups (14.6), Persons (14.0) and White (11.8).
• G Tayler Persons notched his second-straight double-double with career-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) at Jacksonville. He also had 6 assists.
• G Tayler Persons leads NKU in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.1).
• Persons joins Kennesaw State's Yonel Brown as the only two A-Sun players to reach 30-points in a game twice this season.
• F Jalen Billups ranks among NKUís all-time leaders in FG % (2nd, .632), blocks (7th, 89) & blocks per game (12th, 1.0).
• Billups leads the league and ranks third nationally (ESPN) in field goal percentage (69.7), a mark that currently tops NKUís record books as well. 
• Billups is averaging 14.6 ppg in A-Sun games behind 75.6 percent shooting, which leads the league by over 20 percent.
• Billups also ranks fourth in the league in blocks (1.3) and fifth in rebounds (5.6). He also ranks third in rebounding (7.3) in A-Sun games.
• G Chad Jackson and Billups are climbing NKUís all-time scoring list. Billups ranks 40th with 777 points & Jackson checks in at t-42nd (757).
• White has started 15-of-the-last-16 games. He also leads NKU in made 3s (53) & is t-13th in NKU's record books with 129-career treys.
• F Deontae Cole ranks among the league leaders in 3-point field-goal percent, checking in seventh at 39.2 percent.

Billups Is Rewriting Career Marks

Redshirt junior forward Jalen Billups is leaving his mark on NKU's record books. He ranks among NKU's all-time leaders in FG percent (2nd, .632), blocks (7th, 89) and blocks per game (12th, 1.0).

So far this season, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native is 124-of-178 for 69.7 percent, a total that ranks third in the nation (via ESPN), leads the A-Sun and, if the season ended today, would be the best in program history. 

Billups' 11.2 points per game average is second-most on the team (16th A-Sun). In Atlantic Sun Conference action, Billups is averaging 14.6 points per game (8th in A-Sun) on league-leading 75.6 percent shooting. He is also averaging 7.3 rebounds through 11 league games (3rd A-Sun).

In the last three games, Billups has narrowly missed double-doubles: FGCU (nine points, 10 rebounds), Stetson (eight points, nine rebounds) and Jacksonville (15 points, eight rebounds).

Point Person(s)

Guard Tayler Persons has emerged as one of NKUís leaders as a true freshman. Persons has recorded double-digit scoring efforts 18 times this season, including  30 points at Chattanooga. The 30-point effort against the Mocs, coupled with a 16-point, eight assist effort at Morehead State, led to both A-Sun Newcomer and Mid-Major Madness Freshman of the Week honors. He tallied a then-career-high 23 points to lead NKU past Idaho, 79-74. Persons' efforts against EWU and Idaho garnered him A-Sun Newcomer of the Week honors. Persons notched his first career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds in NKU's 82-57 drubbing of Stetson. He posted a second-straight double-double with career-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) to go along with six assists at Jacksonville.

Persons has made his presence felt all over the court for the Norse. He leads Northern Kentucky in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (3.7 apg) and steals (1.1 spg) and is third on the squad in rebounding at 4.8 rpg.

Scouting North Florida

Four Ospreys reached double-figures in a 93-78 victory over Lipscomb on Thursday night. North Florida shot 58.3 percent in the game, compared to 45.8 percent for Lipscomb. The win guaranteed UNF with a first-round home game in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament

Dallas Moore leads the scoring output for North Florida at 15.4 points per game. Beau Beach (12.6), Chris Davenport (11.9) and Jalen Nesbitt (10.0) also average double-digits for the A-Sun's top-scoring team. The Ospreys score at a 75.3 point-per-game rate.

Saturday's meeting will pit the top-two shooting teams in the A-Sun. North Florida averages 46.7 percent in all games to lead the A-Sun, while NKU is close behind at 45.4 percent. The teams swap spots in conference only games with the Norse knocking down 46.3 percent of their shots and the Ospreys making 45.5 percent.

Series Stuff: North Florida

The Norse are 3-2 all-time versus the Ospreys, including a 74-66 home loss earlier this season. Chad Jackson led all scorers with 26 points and completed a double-double with 12 rebounds. Chris Davenport led UNF with 24 points and Dallas Moore added 19. NKU won the first three meetings in the series, but UNF has responded with wins in the last two matchups.

Last Time Out: Jacksonville

Northern Kentucky rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to force the game into overtime, but Jacksonville scored the first five-points in extra time and went on to win, 83-75. Tayler Persons provided the Norse with his second-straight double-double with career- and game-highs in points (31) and rebounds (12) to go along with six assists. Both teams shot exactly 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the floor. The Dolphins knocked down 45 percent (9-of-20) from three, while the Norse made 17.6 percent (3-for-17). NKU held a sizable advantage on the boards, 44-32.