HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A strong effort on both ends of the floor led the Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team to its first Horizon League victory since joining the league this year, an 84-64 defeat of Youngstown State at BB&T Arena on Thursday night.
 
Tyler White led an offensive outburst for the Norse and had an all-around sensational game with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
 
NKU raced out to an early 9-0 lead keyed by five points from White. Then next seven minutes of action was a back-and-forth affair, but YSU was never able to get within less than four points during the stretch. 
 
That's when the Norse bolted out in front with a 19-1 run and held a 46-28 advantage at halftime White tallied 12 points in the stanza and was aided by eight points from both Cole Murray and Drew McDonald.
 
Youngstown State made a three-pointer to open the second half and pull within 15, but Northern Kentucky didn't let the Penguins get any closer. An 8-2 run was followed shortly thereafter by a 9-1 run and NKU closed out YSU, 84-64.
 
McDonald finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and Jalen Billups continued to show why he's one of the nation's top shooters, converting 6-of-7 attempts en route to 14 points. Cole Murray chipped in 11 points and seven boards, while Lavone Holland added seven rebounds and eight assists.
 
Northern Kentucky closes a three-game home-stand with Cleveland State on Saturday at BB&T Arena.
 
Game Notes

• The Norse defense stifled one of the Horizon League's top-scoring offenses. The Penguins entered averaging 88.8 points in conference only games, but NKU held them to just 64 points.
• Turnovers were key to NKU's first-half success. The Norse scored 16 points off of nine Penguin turnovers.
• After hauling in five first-half rebounds, Cole Murray established a new career-high in rebounds by the 18:44 mark of the second-half. He finished with seven boards.
• White narrowly missed his first career double-double, but the nine rebounds established a new career-high for the senior.