VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team nearly erased a double-figure deficit in the second half on Sunday, coming within two points of Horizon League-leading Valparaiso with under five minutes to play, but the Crusaders pulled away late to defeat the Norse 65-58, at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
 
The loss puts NKU at 14-9 overall this season including 5-5 in the Horizon League. The Crusaders improve to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in the League.
 
STAT LEADERS

• The Norse offense issued a balanced scoring effort with two players in double-figures.
• Lavone Holland II paced NKU with 13 points and seven rebounds. He also dished out five assists and picked up a pair of steals.
• Drew McDonald chipped in 10 points and six rebounds with a pair of blocks.
• Cole Murray added three rebounds and nine points on three triples, while Mason Faulkner and Dantez Walton contributed eight points apiece.  

TURNING POINT

• The Norse trailed Valparaiso by 10 at the midway point of the second period and nearly recovered with a 12-4 run that pushed the Norse back within two at 57-55 with 4:37 to play.
• Valparaiso then pulled away again, out-scoring NKU 8-3 throughout the remainder of the game as NKU connected on one of its last six attempts from the field.

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• After Holland opened the game on a 6-0 run of his own with a pair of triples, the Crusaders came back within two at the 16:57 mark.
• The game went on to see three ties and three lead changes over the next seven minutes as neither team led by more than two until Valpo scored seven-straight to lead 22-15 at the 7:47 mark.
• The 7-0 run grew to a 14-2 run over a five and a half minute span as NKU struggled to- connect, shooting 1-for-10 in the stretch. The run pushed the Valpo lead to 31-17 with 4:04 left in the period.
• The Norse used the perimeter to close the gap, sinking a trio of triples in one minute for a 9-0 run. Murray accounted for two of the treys, cutting the Valpo lead to 31-26 at the 2:31 mark.
• Back-to-back triples from Walton within the final minute of the period brought NKU back within two. His pair of threes helped NKU score six triples in the final 3:9 of the half to nearly erase the 14-point deficit.
• The Norse trailed 38-37 at halftime after closing the half shooting 7-for-8, including 6-of-7 from three.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Upon returning to the court, Valpo sank a pair of triples to fuel an 8-0 run that put the Crusaders ahead, 46-37, three minutes into the second period.
• The Norse fought to remain within single digits. A dunk from Holland put the Norse back within five at 54-49 with 7:33 to play.
• They continued to cut down Valpo's advantage, holding the Crusaders scoreless for over three minutes. In that time, the Norse pulled back within two at 57-55 on a layup from Faulkner that capped off a 12-4 run with under five minutes to play.
• A Valparaiso layup and pair of free-throws gave the Crusaders a six-point edge with 2:24 to play.
• NKU could not overcome the deficit as they struggled to connect from the field to close it out, sinking just one field goal – a triple from Faulkner - across the final three minutes.

GAME NOTES

• The Crusaders entered the game averaging 77.1 points per game and were held to 65 by the Norse defense. Further, Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Alec Peters entered Sunday averaging 24.2 points per game, second most in the nation, and was held to 16 including a 4-for-15 showing from the field. Earlier this year, NKU held Youngstown State's Cameron Morse, who at the time was the fourth-most prolific scorer in the nation, to just 14 points, nine below his then-average.
• The Norse forced 14 Valpo miscues on Sunday, posting nine giveaways of their own. In the last two games, NKU has forced 37 turnovers with the help of 18 steals.
• Valpo's showing from the free-throw line was the difference-maker on Sunday as the Crusaders went 12-for-15 from the line compared to NKU's 2-for-8 showing.
• Meanwhile, the teams issued almost an identical showing from the field with NKU shooting 39.7 percent on 23-for-58 shooting, while Valpo shot 40.0 percent on 22-for-55 shooting. From three, the Norse connected on 10 of its 31 attempts (32.3 percent) while Valpo sank nine of 27 tries (33.3 percent).

UP NEXT

• The Norse take almost a week off before traveling to Wright State for a Saturday, Feb. 4 tilt at 7 p.m.