HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –  Five players scored in double figures, as the Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team opened up the Horizon League portion of its schedule with a 92-77 win over IUPUI on Friday evening. The Norse improve to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Jaguars fall to 8-6 and 0-1 in the Horizon League.
 
STATS LEADERS

• Drew McDonald notched his seventh double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
• Tyler Sharpe added 16 points and four rebounds.
• Dantez Walton recorded 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Jalen Tate had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Adrian Nelson tied a career-high with 10 points.
• Trevon Faulkner chipped in a career-high six assists to go along with eight points, three rebounds and two steals.
• Zaynah Robinson added eight points, three rebounds and four assists.

 
TURNING POINT

• A 17-2 run in the first half put NKU ahead 36-20 with 3:41 to play in the stanza. The Norse led by double digits for the rest of the contest.

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• IUPUI scored the first two points of the half, but NKU proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to take a 12-2 lead. McDonald had seven points during the spurt with a three-pointer and 4-of-4 mark from the free throw line.
• The Jaguars responded with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to one at 12-11 with 13:09 to play in the half before tying up the contest at 16 a few moments later.
• With NKU leading 19-18, the Norse used a 17-2 run to take a 36-20 lead with 3:41 to play.
• Robinson closed the half with a long three-pointer at the buzzer from over 25 feet away from the basket to give the Norse a 51-30 lead at the break. McDonald corralled a missed Jaguar free throw and fired the ball up court to Robinson.
• NKU finished the half shooting 9-of-10 from the floor.
• The Norse went 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) on field goals and 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) on three-pointers. NKU also shot 13-of-15 (86.7 percent) from the free throw line.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• NKU led by double digits the entire second half, going ahead by as much as 22 points, and went on to win by a final score of 92-77.
• Sharpe scored 10 points in the stanza, while Nelson and Tate each had eight points.
• NKU shot 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) on field goals and went 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line.
• IUPUI went 18-of-37 (48.6 percent) from the floor, but just 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) on three-pointers.

 
GAME NOTES

• NKU converted 29-of-54 (53.7 percent) from the field and 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) on attempts from behind the arc.
• IUPUI finished 30-of-67 (44.8 percent) from the floor, but just 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) on three-point attempts.
• The 51 first-half points were the most for the Norse in a half against a Division I opponent this season. NKU scored 50 points in the second half against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 18.
• In the past 21 games against Horizon League opponents, dating back to Northern Kentucky's 2017 Horizon League Championship title game against Milwaukee, McDonald has 15 double-doubles. The Norse are 17-4 in those games.
• McDonald is also riding a current streak of three-straight games with a double-double.
• NKU improves to 9-0 at BB&T Arena this year and 4-0 in games in which five or more players score in double figures.

 
NEXT UP

• The Norse host UIC on Sunday, Dec. 30. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at BB&T Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Ohio.