ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team defeated the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 75-64, on Sunday afternoon at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Norse move to 10-6 on the year with the win and return to .500 in conference play at 2-2. Oakland is now 6-10 with the loss and 1-2 in Horizon League play.

STATS LEADERS

• Bryson Langdon had a huge game in the Norse win, scoring 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting (63 percent). He also shot 4-of-6 (67 percent) from beyond the arc and had five assists in the contest.
• Trevon Faulkner had a solid stat line of 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He shot 5-of-9 (56 percent) from the floor.
• Jalen Tate made it his third-straight 11-point performance since returning from injury. He also had four rebounds and five assists.
• Both Adham Eleeda and Adrian Nelson picked up 10 points on 3-of-5 (60 percent) and 5-of-7 (71 percent) shooting clips, respectively.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The first four minutes of action were defensive in nature as both sides didn't score much. Adheke kicked things off for NKU with a layup and Tate sank a shot while being fouled and converted a free throw at the line.
• Continuing his three-point success from a game ago, Eleeda drilled back-to-back threes beginning at the 15:03 mark to give NKU an early 10-7 lead.
• Both sides traded baskets through the middle part of the half as the Norse continually held a slight edge. Eleeda had his third triple of the afternoon with 8:35 left and,  a couple of possessions later, Langdon followed with his own three-pointer to put the Norse up, 24-20.
• Layups by Tate and Nelson gave the Norse their largest lead of the half at five, but an Oakland three-pointer at the 3-minute mark kept things within a possession.
• The Norse went into halftime with a 31-29 advantage over the Golden Grizzlies. Eleeda led NKU with nine points as four other Norse had four or more points.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• The first three made shots by NKU in the second half were all three-pointers. Langdon hit two to get things started and Faulkner had one with 15:40 remaining to put the Norse up 40-36.
• Langdon's strong start to the half continued as he drew a foul from beyond the arc at the 14:54 mark and made all three of his free throw attempts at the line.
• Oakland used a 10-3 run to take a slight lead over NKU at 50-48 with 8:51 left. The Golden Grizzlies hadn't led in the game since the 15:03 mark in the first half.
• A pair of Sharpe free throws were the start of an 11-0 run for the Norse. Langdon followed with a three-pointer on the right side of the arc and Nelson then poured on a dunk, as well as a layup a possession later. Tate capped off the run with a jumper in the paint to give the Norse a 59-50 lead with 5:11 to go.
• With 2:02 left, Oakland fought back and came as close as two possessions away from NKU at 64-60, but the Norse ran away with it again. Tate poured in a layup and a couple free throws, while Langdon also made a pair of freebies a possession later to all but seal the deal.
• Faulkner had a steal and dunk with 16 seconds left to secure the outcome.

GAME NOTES

• This is the third matchup this season where NKU had at least five players in double figures, including the contests against Midway and Eastern Kentucky.
• Langdon reaches a new career-high with the 21-point effort. His previous best was 20 against UC Clermont on November 5.
• NKU shot 26-for-52 (50 percent) from the floor, marking the sixth time this season that the Norse have shot 50 percent or more. The team is undefeated in such contests.
• Also in the shooting department, the Norse shot 13-of-21 (62 percent) in the second half. The last time NKU eclipsed the 60-percent mark in a half was against Illinois State on December 15.
• With Eleeda's 3-for-5 effort from 3-point range, he has now made 9-of-20 (45 percent) across the last four games.

UP NEXT

NKU will travel out to Chicago for a nationally televised matchup against UIC on Friday, January 10. The 7:00 p.m. tip can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on ESPN1530 (1530 AM).