By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
Final exams are officially over at Northern Kentucky University, but the Norse nevertheless passed a huge test on the basketball court Sunday night at BB&T Arena.
Facing a torrid Miami (Ohio) team that owned a three-game winning streak, NKU rallied in the second half and pulled out a 72-66 victory over the visiting RedHawks. The Norse (9-3) held Miami to 39.2 percent shooting from the field and ended a two-game losing skid, something that pleased head coach John Brannen.
Zaynah Robinson scored 14 of his 19 points during the final 11:41 of the game to spark NKU past Miami (Ohio) on Sunday. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Those two seniors, Zaynah Robinson and Drew McDonald, combined for 40 points and took over in the second half as NKU made big plays late in the game to pull away. Robinson scored 14 of his 19 points during the final 11:41 of the game to spark the Norse, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“In the second half, I just told myself to take advantage of some of the opportunities that were there,” Robinson said. “I took what the defense gave me, and it worked out.”
McDonald, meanwhile, netted a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The Cold Spring native also scored six of NKU’s final eight points to seal the victory.
“As a team, we were falling back on our preparation, because we had a really good week of practice,” McDonald said, echoing Brannen’s sentiments. “We knew it would come down to the defensive end, and after we got the lead, we knew if we kept getting stops we’d win the game. We just focused on playing hard, going back to our habits and relying on each other for help.”
Miami (6-5) owned a 51-50 lead with 9:22 remaining, but NKU countered with a 12-4 spurt — including seven straight points with the game tied at 55-all — to forge a 62-55 advantage. Robinson ignited the game-changing run with eight points, two of those baskets coming from beyond the arc.
After Miami closed the gap to 66-64 on a Dalonte Brown dunk with 1:08 left on the clock, McDonald converted a pair of free throws to extend the NKU lead to 68-64. Tyler Sharpe increased the advantage to 70-64 by making a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left, and McDonald iced the win by hitting two charity tosses with 12 ticks remaining.
NKU’s Drew McDonald powers his way toward the basket in the second half against Miami’s Bam Bowman (14). (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
Nike Sibande scored 13 points to lead Miami, which shot just 6-for-25 from 3-point range. The RedHawks were held to 1-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.
“We felt like at (Eastern Kentucky) we did some things that were uncharacteristic of us down the stretch that allowed them to close out the game,” Sharpe said of NKU’s 76-74 loss at Eastern Kentucky last week. “We weren’t trying to do anything special tonight. We just did what we usually do and were able to make stops down the stretch and make key plays to get the win.”
In addition, NKU improved to 2-0 against Mid-American Conference teams this season, having already posted an 88-85 double-overtime win at Northern Illinois last month. The Norse face a rematch with Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. Thursday at BB&T Arena.
Brannen said he would like to see a Christmas party-type atmosphere at BB&T Arena for the game against Northern Illinois.
“I really hope our fans come out, because for the most part Christmas parties are over,” Brannen said, noting he and many basketball coaches don’t get many chances to partake of the festivities. “I don’t know that whole life of Christmas parties. But if there’s any way the fans can bring that Christmas party to BB&T Arena that will be really good, because we need a good crowd on Thursday night.”
NKU is now 7-0 at BB&T Arena this season and is 30-4 at home since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. The Norse have won 15 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents, with the last defeat being an 82-74 loss to North Carolina Central on Nov. 26, 2016.
