CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Cole Murray hit five threes in a three-minute span of the first half and went for a career-high-tying 26 points in guiding Northern Kentucky to a 80-66 win at Southeast Missouri State on Saturday afternoon. The win extends NKU's win streak to four straight, the longest streak in the DI era, moving the team to 7-3 overall. SEMO falls to 4-6 on the year.
 
STATS LEADERS

• Murray was an incredible 8-for-11 from three-point land and a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in matching his career-high 26 points that he scored at Stetson on Jan. 29, 2015.
• Lavone Holland II scored 19, narrowly missing 20 points for the third-straight game.
• Brennan Gillis added eight points and team-high-tying seven rebounds.
• Mason Faulkner chipped in four points, four assists and matched Gillis' seven-rebound output.

 
TURNING POINT

• Murray's three-and-a-half minute dominance in the opening portion of the game catapulted the Norse ahead by 15 points, 26-11. NKU never trailed the rest of the way.

 
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY

• NKU used eight-straight points in the early moments to grab an 11-4 lead. Murray hit the final three in that spurt and went on to hit four more trifectas over the next 3:32 to push NKU out to a 26-11 lead.
• Ten-unanswered from the Redhawks cut the advantage to single digits. SEMO got within four, 34-30, but the Norse closed the half on an 11-3 run, which was capped by Holland's basket just before the buzzer, for a 45-33 halftime lead.
• Murray went 6-for-9 from three in the half, pacing a Northern Kentucky team that shot 56 percent (15-of-27) from the floor and 50 percent (9-of-18) from three.
• NKU also outrebounded SEMO, 20-11, in the frame.

 
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY

• SEMO scored the first four points of the second half to cut NKU's lead down to single digits, 45-37.
• However, Holland answered with a three and NKU led by double-digits the rest of the way.
• The Norse shot 42 percent (10-of-24) from the field and made 40 percent (4-of-10) of its threes in the half as well. SEMO converted 46 percent (12-of-26), but went 0-for-5 from long range.
• NKU also won the rebound battle in the second half, 20-16.

 
GAME NOTES

• Murray's eight threes for the game put him at 189, passing Tyler White for 9^th on the all-time list at NKU.
• With Murray's 26 points, NKU has now had a player reach the 20-point in eight-straight games.
• NKU has secured a winning non-conference record for the first time in the DI era. The 7-3 record is good enough to ensure the Norse won't fall below .500 before conference play, considering only three non-league games remain.
• Northern Kentucky received contributions from nearly every person that saw the floor. Of the ten that played in today's game, nine scored and eight recorded a rebound.

 
NEXT UP

• Northern Kentucky has an eight-day break for finals, but returns to BB&T Arena for a pair of home matches following exams. Eastern Washington comes to Highland Heights, Kentucky, for a 1 p.m. tip on Sunday, Dec. 18, before Brescia heads to town three days later. The meeting with Brescia closes the home portion of the non-conference slate.