YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio  – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team earned a hard-fought road win over Youngstown State, 61-59, on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. NKU is now 21-8 on the year and 13-4 in the Horizon League with the win. The loss moves Youngstown State to 16-13 overall and 9-7 in conference play. But, most importantly for the Norse, they secure a top-two seed in the Horizon League Championship and earn a bye straight to the semifinals in Indianapolis on March 9.

STATS LEADERS

• Dantez Walton lead the way, pouring in a game-high 20 points for the Norse on 7-of-14 (50 percent) shooting. He made half of his shots from deep, going 2-for-4.
• Jalen Tate continued his recent uptick in production with an 8-for-13 (62 percent) day for a total of 18 points. He also had four rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Tyler Sharpe was the other Norse to reach double figures, getting 12 points on 4-of-9 (44 percent) shooting.
• Trevon Faulkner led the Norse in rebounds, pulling down eight.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The first two baskets of the afternoon for the Norse came through Tate. The junior hit a jumper to start things off and then took a feed from a Nelson offensive rebound to dunk the ball. Tate returned the favor at the 15:55 mark by dishing to Nelson for a dunk of his own.
• Youngstown State had the better start to the game offensively, leading 10-6, but Walton gave the Norse their first lead of the day with a three-pointer and a jump shot on back-to-back possessions.
• A lull in scoring occurred at the midway point of the half. Sharpe's basket with 9:16 left was the only field goal in nearly four minutes of action.
• NKU stormed through the end of the half, turning just a two-point advantage into a double-digit lead. Tate forced a turnover with 5:09 left and tossed it over to Nelson for a dunk to begin the run. The same duo had another shot each to make it a 30-18 lead with 2:14 to go.
• Walton made two jumpers to close out the half with 12 points on 5-for-10 (50 percent) shooting, giving NKU a 34-20 lead. Youngstown State shot just 6-for-27 (22 percent) after 20 minutes of action.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Picking up right where he ended the first half, Walton sank another shot on the first Norse possession. Sharpe followed with a layup on the next trip back down the court.
• The Penguins were able to cut the lead down to nine points, but Walton heat-checked them with a three-pointer just before the first media timeout at 15:52.
• Youngstown State kept at it and sank a three-pointer to trim the deficit to seven points shortly after Walton went to the bench with his fourth foul. Sharpe fought back with a three-pointer at the 11:22 mark, but the Penguins had two quick shots to be within two possessions.
• A couple of free throws and a pair of baskets by Tate kept the Norse lead intact at eight, but the Penguins remained in striking distance, hitting two free throws to make it 54-48 with 3:49 to go.
• Youngstown State continued to come back no matter what the Norse threw at them. After a Tate layup with 59 seconds left, the Penguins made a quick shot and went to the line for two a possession after, bringing it to within two at 61-59 with 37 seconds left.  
• The Penguins took a stab at tying the game up down low in the final seconds, but the comeback fell just short for NKU to edge out the win.  

GAME NOTES

• NKU remains undefeated when holding opponents under the 60-point threshold at 10-0. They are also an impressive 16-3 when holding opponents to 69 points or less.
• In the last five games, Jalen Tate is shooting an effective 35-of-65 (55 percent) from the floor.
• This is the second-straight game that Walton has contributed 20 or more, the first time that's happened since he returned from injury.
• NKU extends its winning streak over the Penguins to seven games.
• The Norse shot 48 percent (24-of-50) from the floor while limiting the Penguins to 33 percent (19-of-58).
• NKU dominated the paint to the tune of a 34-14 advantage in scoring.
• Northern Kentucky is guaranteed no worse than a second-place finish in the league standings, which earns the automatic bye into the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis on March 9.

UP NEXT

The Norse conclude the regular season at BB&T Arena on Friday night against rival Wright State. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. and can also be heard on ESPN1530 (1530 AM).