After a strong first half, the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team struggled to connect from the floor in the second period, falling to Michigan 77-62 at the Crisler Center Tuesday night.
Jalen Billups led the Norse with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go with a team-high six rebounds. Billups was joined in double-figures by Cole Murray with 15 points after going 6-for-9 with a trio of treys while Lavone Holland II chipped in 12 points.
Duncan Robinson led the Wolverines with a game-high 18 points after six threes in the first half.
Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team struggled to connect from the floor in the second period, falling to Michigan 77-62 at the Crisler Center Tuesday (UM Athletics Photo)
The Norse (2-6) and shot 53.6 percent from the field in the opening period and ended the game shooting 45.6 percent after a 37.9 clip in the second period. Michigan (8-3) posted a 52.8 shooting percentage from the floor on the night.
Billups came out hot, sinking each of his first four attempts from the floor as he was responsible for eight of NKU’s 11 points as it trailed 15-11 at the 14:14 mark.
Michigan’s Mark Donnal netted seven uninterrupted points to hand the Wolverines a brief double-digit lead at 32-20 with 8:35 left in the half. The Norse answered back with six quick points to close the gap to 32-26 with 6:23 on the clock.
Murray scored six-straight for the Norse but the Wolverines connected on three-straight possessions for a 40-30 lead after Robinson struck for his fifth triple of the game with 3:28 on the clock.
The Wolverines held on to lead 43-34 at halftime.
When the teams returned to the floor, Michigan used an 11-4 run to open up a game-high 57-38 advantage after the first four minutes of action.
Dean Danos and Brennan Gillis fought back with seven points for NKU but the Wolverine lead would climb to 64-45 with 9:10 on the clock after a four-minute NKU scoring drought.
A pair of triples from Murray and free throws from Billups cut the deficit to 12 points with just over six minutes to play, but that would be the closest the Norse would get as the Wolverines went on to win, 77-62.
The Norse will turn around to host Ohio Valley Conference foe Southeast Missouri State on Saturday at 7 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women’s team at BB&T Arena.
The men’s contest against the Redhawks will feature a Teddy Bear Toss benefiting St. Elizabeth Hospital at halftime. Fans are encouraged to bring any new stuffed animal and will have a chance to win an HDTV, iPad Mini, Fitbit, PS4 bundle and all-session tickets to the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Tournament.
NORSE NOTES:
· With 12 points tonight, Holland has scored double-figures in seven of NKU’s eight games.
· The NKU bench outscored Michigan’s reserves, 15-11.
· Billups issued a 7-for-11 performance from the field after entering the contest ranked 15th nationally at 66.2 percent (43-of-65) shooting this season.
· The Norse fell two rebounds shy of outrebounding their third-straight opponent as the Wolverines posted 29 boards to NKU’s 28.
From NKU Athletics
