HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University men's basketball reached new heights in the 2016-17 campaign, forcing the nation to take notice that NKU is ready to compete on the national landscape.
 
Why the team success? Simply put, because the Norse were willing to sacrifice the "me" for the "we."
 
In making that sacrifice, Northern Kentucky became a dangerous team where on any given night the Norse proved they were willing to feed the hot hand. And, that proof lies in a few simple statistics.
 
Ten Norse combined for 114 double-figure scoring outputs.
 
Five players scored 20 or more points 30 times.
 
Consequently, Northern Kentucky went 24-11 on the season with a Horizon League Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
 
This serves as the second article in a two-part series recapping NKU's accomplishments throughout the 2016-17 season. Today's article examines the individual successes of the Norse players as they relate to the team's success. Last week's installment served as an overview of the team's success this season.
 
Setting the Early Tone
Northern Kentucky established a tough, gritty mentality from the onset of the season. In NKU's season-opening win over Earlham, Jeff Garrett recorded the team's first double-double of the year with a 12-point, 14-rebound effort. Garrett would go on to post double-figures in rebounding in three of Northern Kentucky's first four games.
 
Carson Williams went into the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, and, unfazed by being on the big stage, notched his first-career double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds against Illinois. His performance against the Fighting Illini, coupled with a 15-point showing in NKU's opener, led to Williams' first Horizon League Freshman of the Week honor on Nov. 14, 2016.
 
Hometown Hero Drew McDonald then took control. McDonald scored 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Northern Kentucky's game against Austin Peay. It marked the first double-double of the season for the sophomore and kicked off a stretch of five-straight games where the forward scored 20 or more points and registered four double-doubles.
 
Tarkett Tandem
Three of those early games in which McDonald reached the 20-point plateau came in the Tarkett Sports Classic. In addition to the aforementioned 21-point game versus Austin Peay, McDonald dropped a 28-point, 13-rebound performance versus Delaware and closed with 23 points and nine caroms against host Miami.
 
Northern Kentucky's firepower was on display in the final game of the tournament. Lavone Holland II teamed with McDonald to give the Norse its first of seven games with two players recording at least 20 points in the same game. Holland dropped 25 on the RedHawks.
 
For their efforts, McDonald and Holland were named to the all-tournament team.
 
Back-to-Back 20-Point Guys
After teaming up to score 23 and 25, respectively, McDonald and Holland both reached the 20-point level for a second-straight contest when both players recorded 20 versus NC Central at BB&T Arena.
 
Norse Make Statement
Despite sitting at 3-2 overall and grinding out wins over Delaware and Miami (Ohio) that started to define the "won't back down" attitude of this team, NKU went down to Morehead, Kentucky, and delivered a closing performance that made the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati region take notice. Several individual performances really stood out.
 
McDonald was absolutely scintillating in the game, converting 12-of-14 field-goal attempts en route to 32 points. He added 11 rebounds for good measure. It was McDonald's lay-in with exactly one-minute left on the clock that pushed NKU ahead for good, as the Norse out-scored the Eagles 8-1 over the final 2:20 of the game to secure the win.
 
Five Norse reached double-figures in the game, including 13 points from Jalen Tate. Tate was equally disruptive on the defensive end. Holland was also impressive on defense in the closing minutes. The junior guard chipped with 12 points and six assists.
 
However, the one performance that may get overlooked in the box score came from Jordan Garnett. The junior did not score in the game, but he hauled down a career-high eight rebounds and posted a whopping plus/minus of plus-19 as NKU outscored MSU 59-40 with Garnett on the floor.
 
Northern Kentucky Wins Six in a Row
That Morehead State victory ignited an NKU team that went on a six-game winning streak. During the course of that run the Norse would claim back-to-back Horizon League Player of the Week honors, while seven different Norse reached double-figures and four of them registered at least 20 points in a game.
 
The League first awarded McDonald player of the week accolades on Dec. 4, 2016, for his outings against Morehead State and Norfolk State (18 points on 7-for-10 shooting). He averaged 25 points on the strength 19-of-24 field-goal shooting (79.2 percent).
 
Holland followed a week later, garnering the award on Dec. 12, 2016, after posting 28 points versus Eastern Illinois and then pouring in 19 at SEMO.
 
NKU's win against SEMO was evidence of how much fire power the Norse had this year and how Cole Murray was always just one made three from going off. Over a span of three minutes in the first half, the senior sharp-shooter connected on five three-pointers. The outburst pushed NKU ahead by 15 and it never trailed the rest of the way. Murray finished the game with 26 points thanks to 8-for-11 shooting, all from long range.
 
Thanks to the six-game winning streak, the Norse entered Horizon League play with a 9-4 non-conference record.
 
Murray Must Love Detroit Mercy's Calihan Hall
On Feb. 1, 2016, Murray garnered NKU's first-ever Horizon League Player of the Week accolade thanks to a 25-point outburst at Detroit Mercy. One year later, Murray went off at UDM's Calihan Hall again. This time, Murray and Holland both dropped in 21 points in leading NKU to the road win. In two career games in Calihan, Murray averaged 23.5 points behind 14-of-22 three-point shooting (63.6 percent).
 
Northern Kentucky Makes Horizon League #TakeNotice
Mason Faulkner and McDonald helped open the home portion of NKU's Horizon League slate in explosive fashion. Faulkner took over in a Thursday night tilt against Youngstown State, scoring a then-career-high 24 points against the Penguins to lead Northern Kentucky to an 83-70 victory. That scoring outburst came in the middle of a three-game stretch where the freshman guard reached double-figures each time. He closed with 16 points versus Cleveland State just two days later to earn Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors.
 
McDonald delivered what was arguably the individual performance of the year for Northern Kentucky against Cleveland State to make it a clean sweep of the league's weekly awards on Jan. 9. The Cold Spring, Kentucky, native was unstoppable in the first half, scoring 30 of his career-high 37 points before intermission. The outburst established a new Division I-era single-game scoring record for NKU and was the most points scored in a game by a Norse since David Palmer tallied 39 against UC-Clermont in December 2009.
 
Faulkner Does It Again
Three-straight losses had the Norse sitting at 3-4 in the Horizon League, but in a Sunday afternoon tilt in BB&T Arena versus Detroit Mercy Mason Faulkner delivered another eye-opening performance that served as the catalyst for a dominant Northern Kentucky run to close the season.
 
Faulkner simply took over against the Titans, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and 11-of-14 at the charity stripe in scoring a career-high 29 points.
 
Walton Steps Up
Fellow Freshman Dantez Walton joined the fray in NKU's very next game. With the Norse playing somewhat sluggish to open the game at UIC, Walton came off the bench to ignite a fire against the Flames. He scored 10 points, all in the first half, to help Northern Kentucky erase an early 10-point deficit to take a nine-point lead into intermission. NKU went on to win, 79-62.
 
The game against UIC proved crucial for Walton, who stepped up to post double-digit scoring three times in a five-game stretch. He added 12 points in the win at Wright State and 11 in the come-from-behind Homecoming triumph versus Milwaukee.
 
Norse to Rest of League: "Pick Your Poison"
Northern Kentucky entered a pivotal matchup at Wright State on Feb. 4. The Norse were 5-5 in League play at the time and trailed the Raiders by one game in the standings. However, the team continued to prove that it didn't care who had the individual success, as long as the team kept winning. NKU won that game at WSU and went on to claim victories in four-straight, with multiple players stepping up during the run.
 
NKU 83 at Wright State 79 – McDonald scored eight of NKU's final 13 points on his way to a team-best 20 points in the game. Williams and Murray each added 14, while Walton chipped in 12. However, it was a Jordan Garnett trey just before the shot clock expired with 30-seconds left that put the Norse ahead by five.
 
NKU 69 vs. Green Bay 67 –Murray had a team-high 17 points to lead four Norse in double-figures. McDonald, Garrett and Gillis each chimed in with 10 points. This time, the Norse clamped down on defense, forcing two Phoenix turnovers in the final 34 seconds to seal the victory.
 
NKU 69 vs. Milwaukee 63 (Homecoming) – In front of 4,963 raucous fans at BB&T Arena, Holland's 21 points, including 19 in the second half alone, paced three Norse in double-digits on the night. NKU rode a 25-4 second-half run, which included 18-straight points, to secure the win. McDonald (13) and Walton (11) also reached double-figures.
 
NKU 62 at Cleveland State 60 – This time it was Williams who shouldered the bulk of the scoring load for much of the game. He scored 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting. But, McDonald chipped in a 13-point, 13-rebound effort, as the big man tallied the final 11 points of the game for the Norse. Williams collected his third Horizon League Freshman of the Week honor after also going for 11 points and 10 boards versus Youngstown State two days later.
 
Closing Time
Northern Kentucky returned to BB&T Arena for the final three games of the regular-season and went out on a roll, winning all three to finish with a 21-10 overall mark and 12-6 record in the Horizon League that earned a share of third-place in the final standings.
 
In the wins over Wright State (83-76), UIC (90-82) and then-League leading Valparaiso (82-78), Northern Kentucky continued to receive contributions across the entire lineup.
 
Jordan Garnett continued to play well against Wright State, registering eight points and three assists.
 
Murray had a team-high 23 points versus Wright State and followed with 16 against UIC. He then went 3-for-4 from long range in the finale with Valparaiso.
 
Holland was certainly inspired to close the season. In the final seven games, he scored at least 16 points each time out and had two nine-assist performances. His final three regular-season games: 19 points, five rebounds, six assists versus Wright State; 19 points, six assists against UIC; and 17 points, nine assists – Valparaiso.
 
Williams nabbed his fourth league freshman of the week honor, including second-straight, thanks to his 17-point outing versus Valpo.
 
McDonald was sensational over the final three games, going for 18 points and six rebounds versus the Raiders, 27 points and nine rebounds versus the Flames and 23 points and six boards versus the Crusaders. Not surprisingly, McDonald was named the league's player of the week to give NKU its second sweep of the weekly awards.
 
Postseason Awards
Second-year head coach John Brannen was named Horizon League Coach of the Year, as voted on by his coaching peers, sports information directors and members of the media. Brannen was instrumental in NKU making the third-best turnaround in the nation and leading Northern Kentucky to both its first Horizon League Championship and NCAA Division I Tournament berth.
 
McDonald was named to All-Horizon League First Team, becoming the first Norse to garner first-team status by the league or conference in the DI-era, after averaging 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. McDonald also earned a spot on the all-academic team thanks to his 3.36 GPA as a marketing major.
 
Williams parlayed his Horizon League-leading four freshman of the week accolades into a spot on the all-freshman team. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this year.
 
Horizon League Championship
No. 4 NKU 82 vs. No. 5 Wright State (Quarterfinals) – Williams made 6-of-7 attempts from the floor in leading the Norse with 17 points, but it was Holland who really made NKU tick. The junior guard finished with 16 points and nine assists in the win. Garnett once again played well against the Raiders, tacking on 10 points. Faulkner also contributed 10 points in the win.
 
No. 4 NKU 84 vs. No. 9 Youngstown State 74 (Semifinals) – McDonald and Holland showed up in a big way for the Norse. NKU's first team all-league honoree McDonald was one rebound shy of a double-double, going for 26 points and nine boards, while Holland added 20 points and three assists. Faulkner chipped in 10 and Walton added eight, including a clutch corner three with just under two minutes to play that helped seal the victory.
 
No. 4 NKU 59 vs. No. 10 Milwaukee 53 (Championship) – Holland was a one-man wrecking crew for the Norse for much of the game. The junior point guard finished with a game-high 20 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. McDonald notched his 11^th double-double of the season, posting 14 points and 12 rebounds. The duo accounted for more than half of Northern Kentucky's points in leading the team to the Horizon League Championship and subsequent berth into the 2017 NCAA Championship tournament.
 
MVP! MVP! MVP!
After scoring 56 points and handing out 16 assists across Northern Kentucky's Horizon League Tournament championship run, Holland was named the tourney's most valuable player and headlined the all-tournament team.
 
McDonald joined Holland on the team after totaling 48 points and 27 rebounds in the tournament.
 
March Madness
Northern Kentucky's incredible run through the regular-season and Horizon League tournament, culminated in a trip to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. The Norse earned the No. 15 seed in the South Region and squared off against in-state foe No. 2 Kentucky in Indianapolis.
 
Holland continued his spectacular play to close out the season, tallying a game-high 22 points versus the Wildcats that including a slashing, high-rising, emphatic dunk in the first half. In the final seven games of the year, Holland averaged 19.0 points and 5.6 assists per game.
 
Williams also showed up on the big stage under the bright lights. He converted 7-of-10 shots and went 7-for-7 at the line for 21 points. The freshman added a team-best nine rebounds as well.
 
McDonald finished the game with 14 points, five boards and three assists.
 
What the CBS Analysts Had to Say During Tourney Game
"I like Holland's game. He really can do a lot of things. Attacks. Gets in the middle. Can finish." Bill Raftery, CBS Analyst, March 17, 2017
 
"Holland with one of the best highlights of the day we've seen in four games of action." Jim Nantz, CBS Play-By-Play Commentator, March 17, 2017
 
"He's a big, strong kid. He's got some touch and finesse." Bill Raftery on Williams, CBS Analyst, March 17, 2017
 
"Northern Kentucky is a disciplined, well-coached team. Very efficient on the offensive end." - Grant Hill, CBS Analyst, March 17, 2017
 
"These kids aren't going away. They are impressive." Bill Raftery, CBS Analyst, March 17, 2017
 
"I like this team. They just have a lot of moxy." Bill Raftery, CBS Analyst, March 17, 2017