The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team’s offense exploded in a 90-73 road win over Oakland in Horizon League action on Tuesday night.
The win moves the Norse to 6-11 overall and 2-4 in League play, while the Golden Grizzlies fall to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in the Horizon League.
Jalen Billups led NKU’s offensive onslaught with 22 points behind 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-for-8 at the charity stripe.
Jalen Billups led NKU’s offensive onslaught with 22 points behind 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-for-8 at the charity stripe (NKU Athletics Photo)
Tyler White added 20 points with his damage coming from beyond the arc, connecting on 5-of-10 three-point attempts. Drew McDonald recorded his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Lavone Holland II chipped in 16 points.
Northern Kentucky opened the game converting eight of its first ten shots from the floor, building a 19-12 lead in the process. Oakland rallied to take a 28-24 lead, but NKU responded with a 7-2 spurt and went on to hold a 41-39 lead at the break.
White led NKU, which converted 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) of its attempts, with 14 points in the opening stanza. McDonald added 10. The Norse defense was both stingy, limiting the Grizzlies to 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) shooting, and active on the boards to the tune of a 21-16 advantage.
A 9-3 run out of the break pushed NKU’s lead to 11, 55-44. The Norse eventually extended the lead to 61-49 before Oakland went on small run to cut the margin to six, 72-66.
Holland II then connected on a three from the right corner with 3:03 remaining that sparked the Norse to an 18-7 run over the remainder of the game.
Billups provided the highlight during the run with a monstrous dunk over an Oakland player. He was fouled on the play and converted the old-fashioned three-point play.
Northern Kentucky shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) on the day and held Oakland to just 37.9 percent (22-of-58). The Norse also dominated the glass, 42-27.
Horizon League preseason player of the year Kay Felder had a game-high 25 points, but shot just 7-for-19 from the floor. Jalen Hayes finished with 20 points and nine boards.
NKU returns home for five of its next six games. The stretch of contests at BB&T Arena kicks off Friday, Jan. 22 with UIC.
Norse Notes
— The 90 points is a season-high for NKU, eclipsing the previous mark of 88 tallied against IU Kokomo.
— In the last three games, White is averaging 19 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
— Billups entered the game ranked No. 9 in the nation in field-goal percentage. He raised his average to 65.7 percent with his performance.
McDonald also had a double-double in NKU’s first-ever Horizon League game earlier this season against Green Bay. He finished that game with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
From NKU Athletics
