HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team put together two solid halves in an 81-26 exhibition victory over Urbana on Saturday afternoon. The contest was the team's final tune-up before the regular season.  
 
STATS LEADERS

• Drew McDonald saw 14 minutes of action and led all players with 17 points.
• Jeff Garrett nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. Tre Cobbs also had 10 points in the contest.
• Carson Williams, Dantez Walton and Tyler Sharpe each contributed nine points.

 
TURNING POINT

• McDonald's 3-point basket 15 seconds into the game gave NKU the lead, and the Norse didn't look back. NKU never trailed throughout the contest.

 
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY

• McDonald scored the first six points for NKU and helped spark a 9-0 run for the Norse to begin the game.  He finished the half with 12 points.
• NKU also went on a 10-0 run midway through the first half, which was capped by a Jeff Garrett tip-in and free throw.
• The Norse defense was impressive in the opening half, as NKU forced 15 Urbana turnovers.
• NKU was 13-of-28 (48.6%) from the floor and held Urbana to 6-of-22 (27.3%) shooting.
• NKU's bench also made a big difference in the first half of action, as the Norse had a 22-3 advantage in bench points.
• The Norse took a 38-14 lead into the half.

 
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY

• Williams had two highlight-reel alley-oop dunks in the first four minutes of the half.
• NKU went on a 12-0 run near the end of the half.
• The Norse defense held Urbana to just 12 points on 5-of-23 (21.7%) shooting in the half.
• NKU shot a blistering 16-of-29 (55.2%) from the floor during the second period.
• The Norse outrebounded Urbana 28-9 in the half.

 
GAME NOTES

• NKU's defense didn't allow an Urbana player to reach double figures and forced 29 turnovers thanks to 19 steals.
• The Norse were 29-of-57 (50.9%) from the floor during the game.
• NKU had 11 different players score in the contest.
• The Norse had a 49-23 rebounding advantage.

 
NEXT UP

• NKU hosts East Tennessee State on Friday, Nov. 10 to open the 2017-18 regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at BB&T Arena.