GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team clinched at least a share of its second-straight Horizon League regular-season title with an 86-82 win over Green Bay. Jalen Tate had a career-high 30 points, and Drew McDonald became the all-time leading scorer in NKU's history. The Norse improve to 23-8 overall and 13-5 in the Horizon League. Green Bay falls to 16-15 on the season and 10-8 in league play.
 
STATS LEADERS

• Tate scored 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc. He also added six assists and four rebounds.
• Tyler Sharpe just missed out on a double-double with 16 points and career-high nine rebounds. He also added two assists.
• McDonald finished the game with 13 points.
• Dantez Walton shot 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-5 on three-pointers for 11 points.
• Paul Djoko registered a career-high seven points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting.

 
TURNING POINT

• Back-to-back layups by Tate and Djoko put the Norse ahead 85-79 with 16 seconds to play. After a Green Bay three-pointer, Sharpe made a free throw to seal the 86-82 victory.

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse started the game on a 7-0 run.
• An 8-0 run put the Norse ahead 26-11 with 10:25 to play in the half. Sharpe scored the last six pints in the run.
• Green Bay used an 11-0 run to cut the NKU lead to four, 26-22, with 7:05 remaining in the half.
• The teams went into halftime tied at 41-41.
• The Norse shot 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) from the floor and 5-of-10 (50 percent) on three-pointers.
• Green Bay went 14-of-31 (45.2 percent) on field goals and 6-of-12 (50 percent) on attempts from behind the arc.
• Tate recorded 12 points in the half for NKU, and Sharpe added 10 points.
• NKU had a 23-15 advantage on the boards, including an 8-2 advantage on offensive rebounds.

 
 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• The game stayed close in the second half, as neither team led by more than four points through the first 11:25.
• With Green Bay in front 57-54, the Norse scored six-straight points to go ahead 60-57 with 10:20 to play.
• NKU extended its lead to 67-59 with 7:57 remaining. Tate scored seven points for the Norse in a span of 1:03.
• McDonald became NKU's all-time leading scorer with a three-pointer that gave NKU a 70-61 lead with 7:05 to play.
• Green Bay scored seven-straight to cut the Norse lead to two points, 79-77, with 1:46 remaining.
• Tate made a tough layup for NKU to put the team ahead 83-79 with 35 seconds left. The Norse got a stop on defense on the next possession, which led to Djoko's fast-break layup. Green Bay made a three-pointer with nine seconds left, but Sharpe converted a free throw in the final seconds to seal the 86-82 victory.
• NKU's typically stingy 3-point defense returned in the second half, limiting GB to just 20 percent (3-of-15) from behind the arc.
• The Norse converted 57 percent (17-of-30) from the floor and an efficient 44 percent (7-of-16) from three.

 
 
GAME NOTES

• NKU finished the game shooting 31-of-63 (49.2 percent) from the floor and 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) on three-pointers.
• Green Bay went 29-of-62 (46.8 percent) on field goals, but just 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) on attempts from behind the arc.
• NKU finished the game with a 42-30 rebounding advantage, led by Sharpe's career-rebounding effort.
• The Norse bench outscored Green Bay's bench 24-12.
• Tate's previous career high was 25 points, which came against UIC on Dec. 30, 2018.
• McDonald now has 2,011 points in his career, which surpasses Craig Sanders' mark of 2,007 points on the all-time NKU scoring list.

 
NEXT UP

• The Norse host a Horizon League quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at BB&T Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Their opponent will be determined based on the results of the remaining four league games to be played Saturday.