Trevon Faulkner
Doug Cochran (Sport Focus Media)
88
Detroit Mercy UDM 11-20
99
Winner Northern Ky. NKU 24-8
Detroit Mercy UDM
11-20
88
Final
99
Northern Ky. NKU
24-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Detroit Mercy UDM 47 41 88
Northern Ky. NKU 40 59 99

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

@NKUNorseMBB opens Horizon League Tournament play with 99-88 win over Detroit Mercy

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team won a shootout in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament against Detroit Mercy, 99-89. The Norse improve their overall record to 24-8 and the Titans end their season at 11-21. NKU moves on to the semifinals in Detroit, where it plays Oakland.
 
STATS LEADERS
  • Tyler Sharpe led the Norse in scoring with 25 points going 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the field and 6-of-12 (50 percent) from beyond the arch. He added six rebounds and three assists.
  • Trevon Faulkner recorded a new career-high in points with 20 going 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the floor and 1-of-2 (50 percent) from the perimeter. He shot 3-of-3 (100 percent) from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds and tallied one of each in blocks, steals and assists.
  • Drew McDonald contributed to the scoring column with 19 points, shooting 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the field and 3-of-6 (50 percent) from three point range.
  • Chris Vogt had 16 points with 7-of-10 (70 percent) shooting.
  • Jalen Tate recorded a career-high in assists with 10 and led all players in the stat line.
 
TURNING POINT
  • To begin the second half, the Norse gained momentum with a 12-2 run to take a 52-49 lead. The Norse never trailed the rest of the half and used a 10-0 run with five minutes remaining to put the contest out of reach.
 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
  • Vogt's put-back dunk put the Norse up 16-14 with 11:02 to play.
  • UDM proceeded to go on a 14-0 run. NKU broke the run with back-to-back threes by Sharpe and McDonald.
  • UDM took a 47-40 lead into the halftime break.
  • Collectively, NKU and UDM made 17 threes. The Norse went 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) while UDM connected on 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) shooting from the perimeter.
  • Both teams had similar field goal percentage with NKU shooting 15-of-33 (45.5 percent) from the field and the Titans going 17-of-35 (48.6 percent) from the floor.
  • NKU dominated the stat line in points in the paint with 16 compared to the Titan's eight.
 
 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
  • NKU opened up the second half with a 12-2 run to take a 52-49 lead. The Norse had trailed the Titans since 10:50 remaining in the first half.
  • The Norse outscored the Titans 59-41 in the second half.
  • Sharpe hit three three-pointers down the stretch to help maintain the lead against the Titans.
  • NKU led UDM in rebounds with 17 compared to 12.
  • The largest lead of the night for NKU came with 3:38 remaining in the second half at 16 points.  
  • A display of 19-of-34 (55.9 percent) shooting from the field helped secure the victory for NKU.
 
 
GAME NOTES
  • NKU shot 34-of-67 (50.7 percent) in the contest while UDM went 30-of-65 (46.2 percent).
  • The Norse converted 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) from three-point range, rivalled by 14-of-35 (40 percent) from the Titans.
  • NKU had a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint and also outrebounded UDM, 38-32.
  • The Norse had a strong showing of assists with 28 on the night.
  • Following the game, Northern Kentucky honored McDonald for setting the school scoring record. He now has 2,030 points. The senior forward also dished out a trio of assists, making him the 25th player in NCAA Division I history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 250 assists in a career.
  • Sharpe and Faulkner gave the Norse two 20-point scorers for the first time since Feb. 1, when Sharpe and Walton each tallied 20 points at IUPUI.
  • Tate's 10-assist evening was the second double-digit assist game of the year for NKU. McDonald tallied 11 assists in his triple-double at Morehead State.
  • With the win, NKU moved to 17-1 at BB&T Arena, tying the 1982-83 team that went 17-0 for most wins at home in a season.
  • Northern Kentucky finished with 28 assists, which is the ninth time this year the Norse handed out at least 20 assists in a game.
  • The 24 wins ties the most for the program in the Division I era, set by the 2016-17 team that won Motor City Madness and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
 
NEXT UP
  • The Norse move on to the semifinal of the Horizon League Tournament, where NKU will face Oakland at 9:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. Northern Kentucky and Oakland split a pair of regular-season meetings, with the home team winning each contest.
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