HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team emerged triumphant over Illinois State, besting the Redbirds, 79-64, on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Arena. The win closes out NKU's nonconference home slate improves the Norse to an 8-3 record and moves Illinois State to 4-6.

STATS LEADERS

• Tyler Sharpe put together a dominant 30-point performance on 10-of-17 (59 percent) shooting. The senior was also 5-of-8 (63 percent) from three-point range, which was his highest percentage from three this year.
• Dantez Walton put up an impressive stat line of 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 (70 percent) from the floor.
• Trevon Faulkner contributed nine points on 4-of-9 (44 percent) shooting.
• Silas Adheke had a perfect 3-for-3, eight-point day, which included a three-pointer.
• Bryson Langdon had five assists to go along with seven points on the day.

TURNING POINT

• An unanswered 13-0 run in the second half propelled the Norse to an 18-point lead with 14 minutes left.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The Redbirds started things off with a 13-9 lead. Adheke had his first three-pointer of the year in the opening minutes.
• Despite the Redbirds advantage in the early going, Walton and Sharpe rattled off four-consecutive shots between the 13:09 and 11:18 marks to give NKU an 18-13 lead.
• The shot frenzy by Sharpe and Walton spurred a 21-12 run for the Norse. Sharpe and Trevon Faulkner followed the four-straight shots a few minutes later with back-to-back triples. With five minutes left in the half, NKU had a five-point edge at 30-25.
• NKU finished out the half with a 43-36 lead thanks to exemplary 17-for-28 (61 percent) shooting. Sharpe had 15 points at the break on 6-of-10 (60 percent) shooting and Walton wasn't far behind with 14 points.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Adheke converted an and-one attempt to open the half and Sharpe followed with a pair of freebies from the stripe to stretch the lead to 48-41.
• The Norse were comfortable and settled in at the 17-minute mark as a three-pointer by Langdon kicked off a 13-0 run. Walton and Sharpe's dominance continued in the unanswered run as the duo each drilled a three. With 14 minutes to go, NKU had breathing room with a 61-43 advantage.
• Illinois State followed with a small run of its own, hitting four in as many minutes to trim the deficit to 63-51.
• The lead generated early in the half proved to be insurmountable for the Redbirds. Nearly every made shot by Illinois State in the final minutes was followed by an NKU make.

GAME NOTES

• The Norse finished the game with 28-of-53 (53 percent) shooting and a strong 11-of-25 (44 percent) clip from beyond the arc, which is a season-high.
• Between the second half of NKU's matchup against EKU and today's first half, the Norse shot 34-of-52 (65.4 percent) from the floor.
• NKU has shot over 50 percent from the field in four of the last five games.
• Northern Kentucky forced 16 turnovers by Illinois State, which led to a 23-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Sharpe's 30 points is a career-high. His previous high was 28 against Morehead State on November 11, 2018.
• Walton's seven assists is also a career high. He had six assists against Green Bay on January 24.
• Over the last five games against DI competition, Walton has converted an efficient 63 percent (48-of-76) of his field goals and 54 percent (20-of-37) from 3-point range.
• Adheke's three-pointer is his first since a November 11, 2018 matchup against Wabash.

UP NEXT
NKU heads on a road trip to UNC Greensboro on December 21. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on Fox Sports 1360.