GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team fell to UNC Greensboro, 67-50, on Saturday night at Fleming Gymnasium. The loss moves the Norse to 8-4 on the season, while the Spartans move up to a 10-3 record with the win.

STATS LEADERS

• Tyler Sharpe put in another spectacular performance for the Norse. The senior had 33 points and shot 10-of-24 (42 percent) from the floor. He also hit at  a great 6-of-15 (40 percent) clip from three-point range.
• Trevon Faulkner and Tre Cobbs contributed seven and six points, respectively.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• Sharpe opened up the game by burying a heavily contested three with little time left on the shot clock. After the Spartans tied it up, both teams struggled to score until Sharpe hit another contested shot, forcing in a layup at the 15:56 mark.
• The Norse senior scored the first 10 points for NKU after sinking another triple and a tough jumper.
• Tre Cobbs ended the run of Sharpe scoring by getting to the line and making a pair with 11:47 to go, making it a tie game at 12 apiece.
• UNC Greensboro piled on eight unanswered-points until Sharpe tacked on a layup to make it 20-14 Spartans. UNCG's success continued and its lead reached as much as 10 points with 7:50 left.
• NKU matched the Spartans with some adjustments to end the half. Sharpe capitalized on a fast break and drew a foul to finish out the first 20 minutes, where he made two free throws.
• The Norse went into the break trailing the Spartans, 34-25. Sharpe lead all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-13 (46 percent) shooting.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• The Spartans began the half on a 14-0 run to stretch their lead to 48-25. Sharpe ended the streak thanks to a wide-open three after Bryson Langdon dished from the paint.
• Sharpe made it nine-straight points with another couple of three-pointers, cutting NKU's deficit to 14 with 14:16 to go.
• A layup by Faulkner and a couple of free throws from Sharpe kept inching the Norse back into the game. NKU was only down 12, 50-38, with 10:06 left despite the large run UNCG went on to open the stanza.
• A 12-point deficit is the closest the Norse could trim the deficit before the game's end. NKU was within 12 points a second time at the 5:55 mark when Sharpe was fouled beyond the arc and converted three free throws.
• Cobbs had four points for the Norse in the final minute, getting to the line to make two free throws, as well as a layup with 36 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

• Sharpe's 33 points is a new career high after just setting one against Illinois State on December 15 with 30. He is now up to 904 career points and moves to 36th all-time in career scoring for NKU.
• Sharpe now has the most made-threes by a Norse on the season with 31.
• This is the fifth occasion a Norse has scored 30 points this season and the second-straight for Sharpe. Dantez Walton has the other three.
• UNC Greensboro is a formidable opponent. They are No. 86 in the KenPom rankings, boast a top-50 defense and were picked second in the Southern Conference preseason poll.

UP NEXT

The Norse take on Milwaukee on December 28 at BB&T Arena to open Horizon League competition. The matchup begins at 1:00 p.m. and can be seen on Fox Sports Ohio and heard on 55KRC (550 AM).