ROCHESTER, Mich. – A strong start to the second half and key free throw shooting down the stretch helped the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team defeat Oakland, 87-83, on Friday night in a nationally-televised matchup of two squads picked to finish at the top of the Horizon League. With the win, NKU moves to 10-5 overall and 3-0 in Horizon League play. Oakland falls to 9-7 on the season and 1-2 in the League.
 
STATS LEADERS

• Four players scored in double figures for the Norse led by Carson Williams, who just missed out on a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds.
• Lavone Holland II added 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Jeff Garrett had 11 points, and Jordan Garnett contributed 10.
• Drew McDonald finished the game with eight points and 12 rebounds.

 
TURNING POINT

• Oakland had gotten the game to one possession at 81-79 with 27 seconds left in the contest. However, the Norse were able to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final seconds to preserve the win.

 
 
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse led 10-4 at the first media timeout, thanks to five points each from Holland and Williams.  
• NKU had an eight-point lead early in the first half, but Oakland battled back and took its first lead of the game with 11:35 remaining in the first period.
• The Golden Grizzlies were ahead 32-30 with 5:52 remaining, and they went on an 8-0 run over the next 1:12 to take a 40-30 lead. Oakland took a 47-41 advantage into halftime.
• Garrett was the top scorer for the Norse in the half with nine points, and Holland and Williams each added eight points.
• NKU shot 15-of-34 (44.1%) in the period, while Oakland went 16-of-28 (57.1%) from the floor.
• The Norse had a 20-14 rebounding advantage, and NKU's bench outscored Oakland's bench 18-9 in the half.
• NKU also held Oakland to without a field goal in the last 4:40 of the half, only allowing the Golden Grizzlies to make seven free throws in that time span.  

 
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse went on a 9-0 run over a period of 2:26 early in the half to take a 57-52 lead, forcing the Golden Grizzlies to call a timeout with 15:56 to play.
• Williams scored eight points and Garnett knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the first 4:04 of the half to help the Norse regain the lead.
• After missing its first field goal of the half, NKU converted seven-straight shots.
• The Norse got the lead to as much as nine in the half, but Oakland came back to cut the lead to 81-79 with 27 seconds to play.
• NKU converted 6-of-6 free throws in the final 27 seconds to get the 87-83 win.
• Williams had 13 points in the half to lead the team, Holland added 11, and Garnett scored all 10 of his points in the period.
• NKU shot a blistering 17-of-27 (63.0%) in the half, while Oakland went 12-of-25 (48.0%).
• The Norse went 9-of-12 (75.0%) on free throws in the half, and the Golden Grizzlies were 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the charity stripe.

 
GAME NOTES

• NKU finished the game shooting 32-of-61 (52.5%) from the floor, and Oakland went 28-of-53 (52.8%) on field goals.
• The Norse had four players in double figures.
• NKU had a 38-25 advantage on the boards, and outscored Oakland 19-4 on second chance points.
• The Norse also finished with a 22-12 advantage in bench points.
• This was Oakland's first loss at the O'rena.
• NKU took very good care of the ball during the game, committing just 11 turnovers.
• Dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season, and including the Horizon League Championship, NKU has gone 18-6 against league opponents.

 
 
NEXT UP

• The Norse will stay in Michigan to face Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.