INDIANAPOLIS – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team finished up its four-game road trip with a 96-71 win over IUPUI on Sunday afternoon at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The win moves NKU to a 12-6 overall and 4-2 Horizon League record. IUPUI falls to 5-14 on the year and 1-5 in conference play.  

STATS LEADERS

• Tyler Sharpe put together a dominating 33-point performance on 12-of-21 (57 percent) shooting. The senior also had a trio of assists and a couple of steals to his name.
• Trevon Faulkner had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Faulkner shot an efficient 6-of-9 (67 percent) and 3-for-6 (50 percent) clips from the floor and three-point range, respectively.
• Bryson Langdon had a big second half to reach 12 points on the afternoon. The Norse sophomore also had seven assists, without committing a turnover, and five rebounds.
• Adrian Nelson continued his recent rebounding prowess, compiling 10 to go along with six points.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• With two points already on the board thanks to a jumper by Faulkner, NKU hit three baskets beginning at the 17:03 mark to take an early 9-3 lead. Sharpe kicked off the mini-run with a layup, then Faulkner hit a deep NBA-range three-pointer and Tate brought in a bucket from the paint.
• The Jaguars climbed back to a one-possession deficit shortly after, but Eleeda sank a three and Nelson drew a foul down low to bring in another couple of points, giving NKU a 16-9 advantage.
• After a roughly slow start to the game offensively, tempo and made-shots increased after the 10-minute mark. Sharpe found success as the pace quickened, bringing in seven points in almost as many minutes of action.
• The Norse picked up a quick eight points in the final two and a half minutes. Faulkner drilled in a short jumper from the paint, while Sharpe and Adheke sent in layups. Sharpe then had the final score of the half with a jump shot, giving NKU a 42-34 lead at the break.
• NKU finished the half with a 17-of-32 (53 percent) mark from the floor and held IUPUI to just 11-of-34 (32 percent) shooting. Sharpe had the most points at the half with 13 and Faulkner wasn't far behind with 12.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• The Norse started the new half going 7-for-7 from the floor to put together a double-digit lead. Langdon was the star of the early minutes after sinking a pair of threes and a jumper. After a made shot by Sharpe with 14:09 left, NKU's second-half output was twice as much as IUPUI's (20-10).  
• Sharpe kept things rolling into the under-12 timeout. The Norse senior was fouled and went to the line with 13:46 to go, hitting both shots. He then hit a shot from beyond the arc to give NKU a 69-50 lead.
• Adheke came out of the timeout and exposed the Jaguars' defense with a dunk. Eleeda then hit his second three-pointer of the day to keep the lead at 19.
• NKU went on a 10-5 mini-run completely fueled by Sharpe with 8:03 to go. After another pair went in at the charity stripe, he made two three-pointers off of feeds by Nelson and Tate, respectively. Sharpe then made another jumper with 5:48 left in the game, extending Northern Kentucky's margin to 84-62.
• With the game all but wrapped up, Karl Harris drilled a three-pointer with 2:39 left and Paul Djoko followed up with a layup on the next possession.
• David Wassler and Bryant Mocaby closed out the game with a jumper and three-pointer, respectively.

GAME NOTES

• NKU closed out the game with a 35-of-63 (56 percent) mark from the floor, in contrast to IUPUI's 23-for-60 (38 percent) shooting.
• This is the seventh contest of the season where the Norse shot 50 percent or more. NKU is 7-0 in such contests.
• Sharpe's 33-point performance matches his career-high. He achieved that mark against UNC Greensboro earlier this season on December 21.
• Sharpe is now 30th in all-time scoring for NKU with 991 points. NKU's sharp shooter has 993 points including a pair scored his freshman season at Louisville.
• This is the seventh time this season that a Norse has scored at least 30 points. Sharpe now leads that category with four such performances. Dantez Walton has the other three.
• This is the fourth double-digit rebounding performance of the year for Nelson, as he helped NKU win the battle of the boards, 39-37.
• IUPUI's Jalen Minnett (60) and Marcus Burk (50) entered with the nation's second and 18th-highest total of made threes. Minnet was held to just one and Burk just two, as the Jaguars managed just four for the game at a 19 percent clip.

UP NEXT

The Norse finally head home to BB&T Arena for a Thursday night matchup against Youngstown State. Coverage for the game will begin at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3 and ESPN1530 (1530 AM).