HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team fell to Cleveland State on Saturday evening by a final score of 83-77. The Norse fall to 21-8 overall and 11-5 in Horizon League play.  The Vikings are now 9-21 on the year and 4-13 in the league.
 
STATS LEADERS

• Drew McDonald scored 22 points and added seven rebounds and four assists.
• Jalen Tate chipped in 19 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal.
• Dantez Walton just missed out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

 
TURNING POINT

• A 9-0 run by Cleveland State in the second half put the Vikings ahead 65-58 with 7:18 to play. CSU led the rest of the way to get the victory.

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse used a 7-0 run to take a 23-15 lead with 8:47 to play in the half.
• Cleveland State battled back and had a 36-34 advantage at halftime.
• The first half featured seven ties and three lead changes.
• NKU shot 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from the floor.
• The Vikings went 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) on field goals.
• McDonald had 12 points for the Norse, and Tate added seven.
• NKU had eight assists on 12 made field goals.

 
 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Cleveland State went on a 7-0 run to take a 56-51 lead with 10:46 to play.
• The Norse had a 7-0 run of their own to go ahead 58-56 with 9:08 remaining.
• Cleveland State responded with a 9-0 run, giving the Vikings a 65-58 advantage.
• The Norse tried to close the gap with an 8-0 run late in the contest, but the Vikings held on for the 83-77 victory.
• NKU shot 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) in the second half.
• Cleveland State went 16-of-28 (57.1 percent) from the floor and 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) on three-point attempts.

 
GAME NOTES

• The Norse shot 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) on field goals and went 19-of-24 (79.2 percent) from the free throw line.
• Cleveland State finished the game shooting 30-of-59 (50.8 percent).
• McDonald needs just two points to hit 2,000 points for his career, and he is just nine points away from tying Craig Sanders' all-time program record of 2,007 points.
• Adrian Nelson finished the game with a career-high eight rebounds. He also contributed four points.

 
NEXT UP

• The Norse close out the regular season with a trip to Wisconsin next week. NKU travels to Milwaukee on Thursday, Feb. 28 and plays at Green Bay on Saturday, March 2.