HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Seniors Lavone Holland II, Jordan Garnett and Nick Ayers will be honored in a pregame ceremony ahead of the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team's final home game of the regular season against Youngstown State. The game, which is part of a doubleheader with the Norse women's team, is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Monday, Feb. 19.
 
Game Information
Northern Kentucky University Norse (19-8 Overall, 12-3 Horizon League)
Youngstown State University Penguins (8-21 Overall, 6-10 Horizon League)
Monday, Feb. 19 – 7:30 p.m. (ET)
BB&T Arena (9,400) in Highland Heights, Ky.
TV: ESPN3 with Brady Laber (Play-by-Play) and Jim Kelch (Color)
Radio: ESPN1530 (1530 AM) with Jim Kelch (Play-by-Play) and Steve Moeller (Color)
Stats: Live Stats
 
Fast Break Points
• NKU dropped just its third game of the Horizon League slate, falling to Wright State for the second time this season in a 69-67 setback.
• NKU is tied with Wright State atop the League standings, but the Raiders hold the head-to-head tie-breaker after defeating the Norse twice this season.
• NKU is 6-9 all-time versus Youngstown State, which includes a 95-85 road win to kick off February. The Norse have won both home matchups as members of the Horizon League.
• NKU needs just one win to reach its second-consecutive 20-win season. One more win this season also guarantees a top-three finish in the Horizon League standings.
• Dating back to the start of the 2016-17 season, and including the #HLMBB Championship, NKU has won 27 of its last 36 games (.750) against League opponents.
• Since navigating the transition period and earning active Division I status prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, NKU has posted a combined 43-19 record (.705).
• Northern Kentucky is 18th in the nation in 2-point field goal percent (56.8).
• NKU is averaging 16.6 assists per game, a mark that ranks 28th in the nation. It also only commits 12.2 turnovers an outing, which ranks 88th nationally. Combining those two marks results in an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.36, the 32nd-best in the country.
• NKU forces the 78th-most turnovers per game in the nation (14.6) and allows teams to distribute just 11.3 assists per game.
• NKU is 55th in the country in steals (7.4 spg), registering double-digit steals seven times this year.
• NKU's 3-point field goal defense ranks 20th in the nation at 31.1 percent.
• Through games played Feb. 14, NKU sits 91st on KenPom.com, which is tops in the Horizon League.
• The Norse are 19th in the CollegeInsider.Com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll and 22nd in the Mid-Major Madness Power Rankings.
• F Drew McDonald has been on an absolute tear in registering double-doubles. He has 12 in the last 17 games and 14 total on the year, 12th-most in the nation. The Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year leads NKU in scoring (16.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg).
• G Holland is the only player in the Horizon League to average double digits in scoring (13.4 ppg) and at least four rebounds (4.2 rpg) and four assists (4.6 apg).
• F Carson Williams is converting 61.2 percent of his field-goal attempts (134-of-219). He is averaging 12.6 ppg.
• G Tyler Sharpe is averaging 9.9 ppg and is shooting 50 percent in League play. He has reached double figures in six-straight games, averaging 14.0 ppg on 51 percent shooting over that time.
• G Mason Faulkner has reached double figures in three of the last seven games and has 20 assists to just four turnovers during that time.
 
Last Time Out
Northern Kentucky trailed at Wright State by 11 with 5:52 remaining, but put together an 8-0 run in the next 1:04 of the game to get back within three. The Norse extended the run to 10-1 and trailed by just two, 64-62, with 3: 58 left. After the Raiders pushed back out by four, Garnett knocked down a three to make it a 66-65 game. A Wright State jumper, a pair of Holland free throws, and a Raider free throw with 0.9 seconds left closed out the scoring in NKU's 67-69 setback.
 
Sharpe had a game-high 16 points and Holland contributed 15 points and four assists. McDonald notched yet another double-double with 12 points and 12 boards. The Raiders outshot NKU, 49 percent to 41, but the Norse won the rebound battle, 37-27.
 
Scouting Youngstown State
A 6-10 conference record has Youngstown State sitting in seventh in the Horizon League standings. The Penguins are 8-21 overall. Cameron Morse leads the team in scoring at 15.4 points for a team that has the fourth-highest scoring averaging in league play at 76.4 ppg. However, YSU surrenders 81.8 ppg against league foes, the worst in the league.
 
Series Stuff
Northern Kentucky is 6-9 in the all-time series, including 2-0 at home since joining the Horizon League. The Norse have also won three of the last four meetings, which includes a 95-85 road win over the Penguins to start February. Five Norse reached double figures in the game, led by McDonald's 26-point, 16-rebound double-double. Williams added 19 points, while Sharpe (15), Mason Faulkner (12) and Holland (11) also reached double digits. Braun Hartfield talled 23 points to lead four Penguins in double figures. Tyree Robinson chipped in 19 points, Cameron Morse 13 and Devin Haygood 12.