MBB Holland v APSU plug
Brad Pope
77
Winner Austin Peay APSU 2-1
69
Northern Kentucky NKU 1-2
Winner
Austin Peay APSU
2-1
77
Final
69
Northern Kentucky NKU
1-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Austin Peay APSU 27 50 77
Northern Kentucky NKU 35 34 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Melissa Powell, NKU Athletic Communications

MBB falls to Austin Peay, 77-69, to open Tarkett Sports Classic

OXFORD, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team suffered a 77-69 setback against Austin Peay on Friday evening in the first game of the Tarkett Sports Classic hosted by Miami (Ohio) at Millet Hall.

STATS LEADERS
  • Drew McDonald turned in his first double-double of the season with a team-high and season-high 21 points to go with 12 rebounds. The sophomore was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
  • Carson Williams followed McDonald with 13 points and seven boards.
  • Jeff Garrett came just shy of a double-double, posting 10 rebounds and nine total points while Lavone Holland II dished out a season-high six assists and netted nine total points.

TURNING POINT
  • NKU led by as many as 16 early in the second half, but Austin Peay would fight back to cut the NKU advantage to 66-61 with 4:24 on the clock.
  • The Governors then scored 12 uninterrupted points over a three-minute span to take its first lead of the game as it held a 71-66 advantage with 1:18 to play that NKU would be unable to overcome.

FIRST-HALF SUMMARY 
  • A Holland triple and a layup helped propel NKU to a 9-0 run to open the game as the Norse maintained the lead throughout the half.
  • Austin Peay responded with six-straight points and came within one of the Norse at 11-10 with 13:44 on the clock.
  • The Norse rode a 9-2 run into the intermission. They held a 35-27 halftime advantage after holding the Governors to just a pair of free throws across the last 4:55.
  • NKU shot 48.5 percent (16-for-33) from the field in the first half while APSU shot 38.5 percent (10-for-26).

SECOND-HALF SUMMARY 
  • NKU picked up right where it left off in the first half, out-scoring Austin Peay 10-2 to start the second half to combine for a 19-4 run dating back to the first half. NKU led, 45-29, with 14:12 to play.
  • With Northern Kentucky leading by 16, Austin Peay went on a 16-4 run to cut the NKU lead to 52-48 with 8:02 to play. Josh Robinson, the game's leading scorer, contributed eight points to the run including a pair of triples to help the Governors steal NKU's momentum. 
  • A Brandon Maxwell triple helped the Norse rebuild a seven-point lead with just over seven minutes to play, but three-straight 3-pointers from the Governors tied the game at 59 apiece with five minutes to go.
  • APSU then took off on its 12-0 run for the 71-66 advantage with 1:18 to play as NKU struggled to connect from the field across the final four and a half minutes.
  • The Governors closed out the victory with an 8-for-8 performance from the free-throw line in the final minute.

GAME NOTES 
  • Northern Kentucky won the rebounding battle, 44-33.
  • NKU out-scored APSU in the paint, 46-26, as the Governors used a 9-for-18 showing from the perimeter to earn the victory.
  • The Norse also led in points off turnovers, 17-12, and in second-chance points, 15-4.
  • Austin Peay's Robinson posted a game-high 31 points while John Murry scored 19 as the duo accounted for 50 of the team's 77 points.
  • With his 21-point showing, McDonald boosted his early season scoring average to 14.3 points per game.
  • Williams, a freshman, has posted double-figures in scoring in each of NKU's three games this season.
     
NEXT UP
  • The Tarkett Sports Classic continues on Saturday when the Norse will take on Delaware at 1:30 p.m. before NKU turns around to take on the host Miami RedHawks on Sunday at 2 p.m. to close out the tournament.
  • Sunday's matchup with Miami (Ohio) has been pushed back to a 2:30 p.m. start time.
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