Despite 20 points from Tyler White and career nights from Lavone Holland II and Drew McDonald, the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team fell to Toledo 90-73 Wednesday night to wrap up the nonconference portion of the schedule at Savage Arena.
White led the Norse with 20 points. Holland and McDonald followed with 18 points apiece, good for a pair of career-highs.
NKU coach John Brannen and his Norse squad fell at Toledo Wednesday night (NKU Athletics Photo)
Holland went 7-of-13 from the floor and added three rebounds and three assists, while McDonald issued an 8-of-12 showing and posted four boards and two assists. McDonald eclipsed his career-high in the first half alone, netting 14 points in the opening period while Holland posted 15 first-half points.
As a team, NKU (4-7) shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) while Toledo (9-4) went 30-for-63 for 47.6 percent shooting from the floor to go with a perfect 20-for-20 showing from the line.
Toledo’s Nathan Boothe posted a game-high 24 points.
The Rockets were hot from the floor to open the game, converting on eight of their first 11 attempts, with Boothe netting 12 of the Rocket’s first 16 points. UT led 16-11 with 13:56 left in the first half.
Despite Toledo’s early advantage, NKU fought to remain within five points of the Rockets throughout the first portion of the opening half. The Norse converted on four-straight possessions to tie the game at 24-24 on a Holland triple at the 9:32 mark.
NKU then ended the first half on a 12-2 run over the final two and a half minutes to nearly erase an 11-point deficit.
The Norse trailed 45-44 at halftime after going 5-for-5 from the floor to end the half while holding Toledo to one of their last nine attempts. Holland contributed eight points to the run while McDonald posted four.
The Rockets responded with a 17-4 run to open the second half, getting out to a 62-48 advantage at the 14:02 mark after forcing a trio of NKU miscues.
Six straight points brought NKU back within single digits of UT, but the game fell out of reach despite Northern Kentucky’s 6-of-9 shooting and three forced turnovers throughout the final seven minutes.
The Norse continue their three-game road swing Saturday when they open Horizon League play against Green Bay at 2 p.m.
Norse notes
* With a pair of rebounds today, Jalen Billups needs just five more rebounds to reach 500 career boards and enter the top-20 all-time.
* McDonald is averaging 13.3 points over the last three games after posting career-highs in scoring in consecutive games with 13 points against IU-Kokomo and 18 against Toledo.
*The Norse fell just shy of having a pair of players post at least 20 points in the same game for the second time this season.
(From NKU Athletics)
