HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Drew McDonald scored eight of NKU's final 13 points on Saturday night to help the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team secure an 83-79 road victory over Wright State at the Nutter Center.

The game saw 10 ties and 14 lead changes as no team ever led by more than seven points. Northern Kentucky maintained the lead throughout the final eight minutes of the game, but Wright State stayed within five points and cut the NKU lead to two points with 59 seconds remaining.

A Jordan Garnett triple and a perfect 4-for-4 showing from McDonald at the free-throw line in the final minute helped NKU hang on for the win.
The Norse improve to 15-9 overall, improving on their Division I record for wins, and 6-5 in the Horizon League. Wright State dips to 15-9 overall and 6-5 in the League.

STAT LEADERS

• Four Norse reached double figures on Saturday led by McDonald's 20-point performance. The sophomore reached the double-figure mark with 10 points in the first half alone. He went 7-for-9 from the charity stripe and also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
• Carson Williams and Cole Murray were tied with 14 points apiece. Williams had 10 points and three rebounds in his first 10 minutes of play after opening the game on 4-for-4 shooting from the field. He also added four rebounds.
• Murray issued a 4-for-8 showing from three en route to his 14 points.
• Dantez Walton chipped in 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and was second on the team in rebounds with five after playing 19 minutes.

TURNING POINT

• A layup from McDonald at the 1:17 mark restored a five-point NKU lead at 76-71.
• WSU's Mark Alstork struck for a triple, followed by Garnett trey as the shot clock expired on the next possession to put NKU back ahead 79-74 with 28 seconds to go.
• Wright State again had an answer, cutting the Norse lead back to two with 22 seconds left.
• McDonald singlehandedly closed it out from the free-throw line, going 4-for-4 across the last 14 seconds to give NKU enough cushion to withstand a WSU layup with five seconds remaining.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The first half saw five ties and nine lead changes as the teams waged a back-and-forth battle to open the contest.
• NKU used a 9-2 run to build up a six-point lead at the 14:04 mark, its largest lead of the half.
• Wright State erased the Norse advantage with a pair of back-to-back trifectas to tie it up at 14-14 with 12:56 left in the first.
• The pair of treys sparked a 13-5 Wright State run in which the Raiders forced four Norse turnovers. WSU led 21-19 with 8:59 on the clock.
• NKU battled to stay within seven points of the Raiders throughout the remainder of the half. Wright State held the largest lead of the period at 34-27 with 2:28 left.
• NKU ended the first half shooting 41 percent (12-for-29) from the field, including 18 percent (2-for-11) from three. Meanwhile, the Raiders shot 51 percent (15-for-29) from the field and went 5-for-11 (45 percent) from behind the arc.
   

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• NKU opened the second half on an 8-2 run as Murray tied it up at 43-43 with a triple at the 16:48 mark. The Norse forced four WSU turnovers in the first five minutes of the period.
• Neither team connected on a field goal for the next four minutes. Walton and Williams each sink a pair of free throws to give NKU its first lead since the 8:23 mark of the first half. Northern Kentucky led 47-46 with 13:01 to play.
• The game saw three more ties in the next four minutes.
• A 3-pointer from Murray at the 9:36 mark of the second half sparked a 13-4 NKU run to help the Norse claim a 67-61 lead with 5:59 left, their largest lead in over 27 minutes.
• WSU fought back with six-straight points to come within one of NKU at 70-69 with 3:23 remaining, but the Norse held on the rest of the way.

GAME NOTES

• Walton has reached double figures in two of the last three games. The freshman has combined for 30 points and 10 rebounds across the last three games.
• NKU spread the offense around on Saturday as nine different Norse saw action. Of the nine, each made their way into the scoring column while eight posted at least one rebound and seven dished out an assist.
• Mason Faulkner recorded a career-high five assists without posting a turnover. The freshman has posted at least four assists on seven occasions this season.
• Entering Saturday's game, NKU was tied for 20th in the country with six true road wins. The Norse improved to 7-6 in true road contests this season and 8-7 overall in away games.
• McDonald reached the 20-point plateau for the team-leading 10th time this season.
• The Norse are undefeated at 7-0 when scoring at least 80 points.

UP NEXT

• Northern Kentucky returns home for a pair of games beginning with a 7:30 p.m. tilt against Green Bay at BB&T Arena on Thursday. The weeknight tilt with the Phoenix is part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team, which plays UIC at 5 p.m. T NKU then turns around to take on Milwaukee at home at 7 p.m. on Saturday that will feature homecoming for Northern Kentucky.