NKU defensive pressure forces 27 turnovers, Norse roll to 77-50 win over UNC Asheville on Friday

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

Three freshmen starters, a first-year head coach and a new system. That’s what North Carolina Asheville brought to BB&T Arena on Friday night in the inaugural KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic.

And Northern Kentucky University took complete advantage of the youthful Bulldogs with a suffocating full-court press, forcing 13 turnovers in the opening 10 minutes of the game and coasting to a 77-50 victory. The Norse’s relentless defensive pressure caused a total of 27 turnovers, 11 of those miscues coming from UNC Asheville’s freshmen starting guards.

“We came in with the focus that they didn’t have too many ballhandlers and they weren’t too deep at that spot,” said NKU defensive standout Jalen Tate. “We knew we wanted to take their star player (DeVon Baker) out of his rhythm.”

The strategy worked perfectly during the first 10 minutes as NKU applied the constant defensive pressure and built a 22-5 lead on a 3-pointer by Dantez Walton. UNC Asheville, meanwhile, committed 13 turnovers and had just one field goal in that same stretch.

“The guards did a great job of ball pressuring, denying and making tough entries into the backcourt,” said Drew McDonald, who finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. “Making them uncomfortable, trapping at the right times and our rotation guys did a great job of getting steals. It was probably our best defensive performance to date so far. We felt like one defensive unit out there.

“[UNC Asheville] is a young team and they have a lot of new guys. With youth, if you keep the ball up they might become a little frazzled, and turn the ball over like they did in the first four minutes. It was just a great execution of the game plan the coaches gave us.”

NKU (4-0) rolled into halftime with a 37-19 lead after forcing 18 turnovers and holding UNC Asheville to just 4-for-18 shooting from the field. The Norse shot 53.3 percent from the field in the second half and led by as many as 35 points to extend their non-conference home winning streak to 11.

NKU has not lost at home to a non-conference opponent since Nov. 26, 2016, when North Carolina Central posted an 82-74 victory at BB&T Arena. A crowd of 2,936 showed up Friday night, and the NKU players and coaches noticed the loud student section.

“The student section was great tonight,” NKU head coach John Brannen said. “We heard them. There were several times during the game I looked up and they were jumping up and down while the other team was shooting free throws. They were loud, and our guys noticed it.”

Tate scored 16 points and dished out five assists to lead NKU. Walton added 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Chris Vogt finished with eight points and two blocks.

Silas Adheke scored six points and grabbed six rebounds, while Tyler Sharpe added six points and four steals. The Norse dominated the rebounding (42-27 advantage) and won despite going 4-for-25 from 3-point range.

Baker led UNC Asheville (1-2) with 18 points, while fellow freshman guard Tajion Jones added 12 points. UNC Asheville returns just 5.5 percent of its points from last season — only 141 points from a 21-13 squad that advanced to the NIT and took Southern California to two overtimes before dropping a 103-98 decision in Los Angeles.

The Bulldogs are also under the guidance of first-year head coach Mike Morrell, who was named the top recruiter in the country under the age of 35 in 2015 by ESPN. Morrell arrived at UNC Asheville after a stint as an assistant coach at Texas.

It marked the first meeting between NKU and UNC Asheville in men’s basketball.

NKU will meet Manhattan — a 55-53 winner over Coastal Carolina in Friday’s first game — at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Jaspers are 1-2.

Prior to the NKU/Manhattan game, Coastal Carolina (2-2) plays UNC Asheville at 4:30 p.m.