McDonald, Holland collect double-doubles, NKU gives Brannen perfect birthday gift with 91-64 win

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin road jinx officially ended for Northern Kentucky University on Thursday night during a 91-64 victory at Milwaukee.

Drew McDonald scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as NKU shot 60 percent from the field and earned its first-ever win on the rugged Milwaukee/Green Bay road swing. The Norse — who joined the Horizon League in 2015 — had been swept in the previous two trips to Wisconsin, losing twice to both Milwaukee and Green Bay.

All that changed Thursday night as NKU overwhelmed the Panthers with a dominating first-half onslaught and improved to 13-6 overall, 6-1 in the Horizon League.

“We had a great shootaround today, and I told the guys right before the game that I didn’t have anything to say,” said NKU head coach John Brannen, who celebrated his 44th birthday Thursday night with the victory. “They had already sent the message with their intensity in the shootaround. I told them I was going to sit back and watch. They were outstanding in every respect, particularly in the first half. It was a great birthday gift.”

Lavone Holland II nearly recorded a triple-double for the Norse, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. The senior point guard was perfect from the field (7-for-7 shooting) and also added a block.

NKU shot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field in the first half to build a 49-23 lead at the break. McDonald scored 15 points during the opening half, while Holland netted 13.

“We shared the ball really well, executed offensively, and played very good defense as well,” Brannen said. “We’ve played with high-level intensity in spurts this season, but I really was impressed by the maturity level our guys showed tonight. It’s good to come into this arena and finally get a win, because Milwaukee has some very good players and they are a well-coached team.”

NKU’s Tyler Sharpe again provided instant offense off the bench with a career-high 19 points. Sharpe buried five shots from 3-point range and was 7-for-8 from the field. He also drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and scored eight points to help the Norse build their insurmountable 26-point lead.

“Tyler shoots it, but he also defends and people overlook that fact,” Brannen said. “He does it each day in practice, and then it carries over to the games.”

NKU outscored Milwaukee by a whopping 28-8 margin in points in the paint during the first half and limited the Panthers to 30 percent shooting from the field. The Norse led by as many as 30 points in the second half and finished with a 31-16 edge in points off the bench.

Jalen Tate dished out six assists as NKU took a 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Milwaukee. Carson Williams added eight points for the Norse, while teammates Jeff Garrett and Dantez Walton each scored six points. Walton also hauled in five rebounds as NKU finished with a 37-23 advantage on the glass.

McDonald, the junior forward from Newport Central Catholic, notched his eighth double-double of the season. He now has 24 double-doubles in his career.

Brock Stull led Milwaukee (9-12 overall, 2-6 Horizon League) with 12 points. The Panthers made just 41.1 percent of their shots from the field and lost for the fourth straight game.

“Tonight was certainly not our night,” Milwaukee head coach Pat Baldwin said. “We came up against a very good opponent that obviously returned a lot of great qualities, inside and out. They dictated tempo from the very beginning, they set the tone for how they wanted to play and we couldn’t match that.”

NKU will close out the road swing Saturday by visiting Green Bay at 1 p.m. The Phoenix dropped an 80-67 decision to Horizon League-leading Wright State on Thursday night and are 8-14 overall.

Green Bay is 3-6 in the Horizon League, but the Phoenix have defeated NKU the past two years on their home floor.

HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS