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NKU notebook: Norse (19-8) aim for 20th victory Monday night in home finale for senior trio


By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

In what promises to be an interesting home finale Monday night, Northern Kentucky University can clinch its second consecutive 20-win season with a victory against Youngstown State at BB&T Arena. The tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

NKU enters Monday with a 19-8 overall record, and the Norse are tied with Wright State for first place in the Horizon League with a 12-3 mark. Youngstown State, which normally plays a fast-paced tempo and employs full-court pressure, is 8-21 overall. The Penguins are 6-10 in the Horizon League and knocked off Oakland last week, 75-73, when Garrett Covington tipped in a shot at the buzzer.

NKU senior forward Jordan Garnett (1) is a three-year starter and one of the team’s top defenders. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

Three NKU seniors — Lavone Holland II, Jordan Garnett and Nick Ayers — will be honored Monday night in pregame festivities.

Holland is the only player in the Horizon League to average double figures in scoring (13.4 ppg) and at least four rebounds (4.2 rpg) and four assists (4.6 apg). After sitting for much of the opening 20 minutes due to early fouls, the senior guard netted all 15 of his points in the second half against Wright State.

Garnett is a three-year starter for the Norse and one of the top defenders on the team. The Indianapolis native averages 6.5 points and a career-best 2.1 assists per game. He has dished out six assists in a game twice this season. Ayers is a walk-on player from Simon Kenton High School.

AIMING FOR 20: A year ago, NKU posted a 24-11 record. The Norse are looking to secure consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time as a Division I program.

NKU won at least 20 games in its final two seasons while competing in Division II, posting a 23-7 record during the 2011-12 campaign and a 21-9 slate the previous year.

During its first season as a Division I program in 2012-13, NKU finished with an 11-16 overall record. The Norse, then members of the Atlantic Sun, posted a 9-9 record in the conference that inaugural season in Division I.

McDONALD DOUBLE-DOUBLES UP: NKU junior forward Drew McDonald has a Horizon League-leading 14 double-doubles this season and 30 for his career. On the season, the Newport Central Catholic graduate is averaging a team-leading 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In Horizon League play, McDonald averages 17.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per outing.

KNOCKING DOWN THE FREEBIES: Holland and McDonald and are among the nation’s leaders in shooting at the charity stripe. Holland knocks down 85.2 percent (69-of-81) and McDonald converts 81.4 percent (83-of-103).

NKU senior guard Lavone Holland II is the only player in the Horizon League to average double figures in scoring (13.4 ppg) and at least four rebounds (4.2 rpg) and four assists (4.6 apg). (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

SO CLOSE, BUT…: NKU has eight losses this season, with six of those setbacks having been decided in the final minute of play. Five of the losses (Vermont, Memphis, Maryland-Baltimore County, twice against Wright State) are by a combined 10 points.

NKU also dropped a 64-58 decision at nationally ranked Texas A&M, but the Norse led that game midway though the second half and trailed by just three points with 21 seconds left.

Only East Tennessee State (84-71 loss) and Oakland (83-70 loss) have pulled away in games this season against NKU.

REVIVAL IN YOUNGSTOWN: Youngstown State is under the direction of first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun, who previously built Fairmont State (W.Va.) into an NCAA Division II national powerhouse.

Calhoun spent five seasons at Fairmont State and compiled a record of 124-38, with five 20-win seasons and a Division II national runner-up finish last March. He was also named the 2017 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year.

Youngstown State enters Monday featuring a high-octane offense (75.7 ppg) that is No. 4 in the Horizon League. The Penguins have one of the top backcourts in the league with guards Cameron Morse (15.4 ppg) and Braun Hartfield (13.9 ppg). Morse has knocked down 74 shots from 3-point range this season.

LAST TIME AGAINST YSU: On Feb. 1, Drew McDonald scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as NKU rallied in the second half and held off the upset-minded Penguins, 95-85, at Youngstown, Ohio.

NKU shot 59.6 percent from the field and was 10-for-19 from 3-point range. McDonald finished 9-for-11 from the field, dished out three assists and collected three steals.

Braun Hartfield led Youngstown State with 23 points, while Tyree Robinson scored 19 off the bench. Cameron Morse finished with 13 points for the Penguins.

WHAT: Youngstown State (8-21, 6-10 HL) at Northern Kentucky (19-8, 12-3 HL)
WHEN: Monday, Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Highland Heights, Ky.
ARENA: BB&T Arena (9,400 capacity)
RADIO: ESPN 1530
TELEVISION: ESPN3
SERIES: Youngstown State leads, 9-6

NKU/WRIGHT STATE PHOTO GALLERY

HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport


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