HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team notched its sixth straight win and eighth of its last nine games on Wednesday, cruising to a 97-73 victory over Brescia at BB&T Arena.

With the win, NKU improves to 9-3 overall while Brescia dips to 2-9.

STATS LEADERS

• Carson Williams posted his second career double-double including a career-high in scoring for the second-straight game. The freshman scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
• Drew McDonald led all scorers with 22 points to go with eight rebounds as he helped the Norse win the rebounding battle, 49-31.
• Cole Murray posted 12 points and three assists while Dantez Walton rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
• Lavone Holland II and Jordan Garnett dished out five assists apiece, a career-high for Garnett.

TURNING POINT

• The Norse led throughout the entire game and used a 16-4 run over a two and a half minute span to take control of the game at 42-20 with 4:58 left in the first half. Four different Norse contributed to the run.

FIRST-HALF SUMMARY

• Northern Kentucky out-scored Brescia 12-4 across the opening minutes and built up a double-digit lead by the midway point of the opening half.
• The Norse held a 24-13 advantage with 11:13 left in the half and would lead by as many as 25 after a Jeff Garrett dunk with 1:57 left in the period.
• NKU shot 58.3 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Bearcats to a 38.2 percent performance.

SECOND-HALF SUMMARY

• Two minutes into the second half, NKU held a game-high 28 point lead at 58-30.
• Brescia chipped away at the deficit and came within 12 of NKU after going on a 16-6 run over a five minute span. The Bearcats trailed 70-58 with 9:31 left in the game.
• The Norse out-scored the Bearcats, 25-12, throughout the remainder of the contest.

GAME NOTES

• Northern Kentucky's 97 points is a season-high, besting the mark of 96 points scored in the season opener against Earlham on Nov. 11.
• NKU also set a season-high mark in both rebounds (49) and tied the season high in assists (23). This also marks the second-straight game with more than 20 assists, as NKU dished out 22 helpers on 26 made baskets against Eastern Washington.
• The Norse have now won the rebounding battle in 11 of their 12 games this season and bested the previous season-high mark of 48 set against Delaware on Nov. 19.
• The Norse have had at least one player eclipse the 20-point mark in nine of its 12 games this season.
• NKU netted 26 points off turnovers after forcing 16 miscues.

NEXT UP

• The Norse turn around to take on No. 11/12 West Virginia on Friday, Dec. 23 at the WVU Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.