HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team defeated Youngstown State by a final score of 76-69.
Drew McDonald went 12-of-12 from the free throw line to set the all-time NKU record for most free throws made in a career. McDonald now has 435 made free throws, which surpasses Craig Conley's record of 431 made free throws.
STATS LEADERS
- McDonald recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds. He went 7-of-11 from the floor and 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
- Jalen Tate added 15 points and five assists.
- Tyler Sharpe chipped in 14 points. He was a perfect 9-of-9 on free throws.
TURNING POINT
- YSU led 64-63 with 3:37 to play. The Norse went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 72-64 with 40 seconds to play and went on to win 76-69.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- The Norse used a 7-0 run to go ahead 29-19 with 8:33 on the clock. Adrian Nelson started the run with a layup, Sharpe hit a three, and Paul Djoko scored on a layup off of a nice pass from Tate.
- NKU took a 38-32 lead into halftime.
- The first half featured three ties and three lead changes.
- McDonald had 11 points and six rebounds for the Norse.
- Tate added nine points and three assists, and Sharpe contributed eight points, shooting 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
- The Norse shot 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) from the floor and 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) on attempts from beyond the arc.
- YSU went 12-of-25 (48.0 percent) on field goals and 3-of-10 (30.0 percent) on three-point attempts.
- NKU had a 16-11 advantage on rebounds in the half.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- The Penguins cut the Norse lead to 45-44 with 13:24 to play.
- NKU then scored six-straight points off of dunks to go ahead 51-44. Chris Vogt had two slams during the run, and Tate added another.
- The Penguins battled back and tied the game at 53-53 with 9:19 to play.
- With NKU ahead 60-59, YSU knocked down a three-pointer to take a 62-60 lead with 4:53 remaining.
- Moments later, YSU had a 64-63 advantage. The Norse proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to take a 72-64 lead with 40 seconds to play.
- The Norse shot 10-of-20 (50.0 percent) from the floor.
- YSU went 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) on field goals.
GAME NOTES
- The Norse finished the game shooting 23-of-45 (51.1 percent) on its field-goal attempts. NKU also converted 26-of-32 (81.3 percent) free throws.
- Youngstown State shot 26-of-58 (44.8%) on field goals and was held to 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from long range.
- NKU improves to 16-0 at BB&T Arena this season and has won 20-straight games at home dating back to last season.
- In addition to setting the free throw record, McDonald is tied for second all-time in games played at NKU with 125.
- McDonald now has 1,976 points in his career. He needs five more to pass Brady Jackson (1,980 points) for second place on NKU's all-time scoring list. Craig Sanders, who played for the Norse from 1998-2002, is the leading scorer in program history with 2,007 points.
NEXT UP
- The Norse host Cleveland State on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. NKU will celebrate seniors McDonald and Zaynah Robinson before the game.
