By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
Having survived a double-overtime thriller at Northern Illinois on Friday night, not to mention a long bus ride home, Northern Kentucky University needed a breather on Sunday.
The Norse found the perfect remedy in Wabash College, an NCAA Division III member coming off a 28-point loss to Bellarmine in an exhibition contest. Less than 48 hours after pulling out the heart-stopping double-overtime win at Northern Illinois, NKU had no problem with Wabash and rolled to a 99-59 victory at BB&T Arena on Sunday night.
NKU had little time to prepare for Wabash, as the Norse didn’t get back from Illinois until 4:40 a.m. Saturday. Add in the two overtimes and it’s a perfect scenario for fatigue.
NKU’s Tyler Sharpe launches a 3-pointer against Wabash. Sharpe scored 15 points and added five steals. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
“We can complain or use that as an excuse, but at the end of the day we have to get used to it because we have nine (Horizon League) weekends coming up where you only have one day of rest.”
Zaynah Robinson scored 16 points and dished out four assists for NKU, which improved to 3-0. The Norse used a 31-2 spurt that included 25 consecutive points to turn a 12-7 deficit into a 38-14 lead in the first half. Freshman Bryant Mocaby capped the first-half scoring by draining a long 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give NKU a 58-26 cushion.
Sharpe netted 13 of his 15 points before intermission, while Robinson scored nine points during the opening half. The Norfolk State transfer — who poured in 13 points in the two overtime periods to rally NKU past Northern Illinois on Friday night — is making an immediate impact for the Norse.
“It’s been a process, but I think Coach (John) Brannen, the staff and my teammates give me enough confidence to play my game,” Robinson said. “It’s been a smooth transition overall, and I’m becoming more comfortable each day.”
Sharpe collected five steals and grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Jalen Tate added 12 points and five rebounds, while freshman Trevon Faulkner scored a career-high 11 points.
Drew McDonald chipped in 10 points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes played as NKU led by as many as 51 points and dominated the court. The Norse buried 15 shots from 3-point range and converted 57.4 percent of their attempts from the field.
Wabash shot just 31.7 percent from the field and was 6-for-25 from 3-point range. Jack Davidson scored 19 points to lead the Little Giants.
NKU’s Zaynah Robinson watches his 3-pointer swish through the net in the first half against Wabash. Robinson scored a team-leading 16 points. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)
VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE: Prior to the game, NKU invited all military veterans in attendance to join the teams on the court during the national anthem. “I want to acknowledge what today is, and what a proud moment it was for our program to bring all the veterans on the court before the game and be honored enough to be with them during the national anthem,” NKU head coach John Brannen said of the Veterans Day tribute in BB&T Arena, also noting his father is a veteran.
“Before the game at the shootaround, we gave some background on Veterans Day and when it was instituted in 1919, how many millions of veterans we have that are retired. I asked the question, ‘Do you have anybody in your family who’s a veteran of the military?’ And all the guys raised their hands. They really enjoyed the men and women on the court. We were honored to be out there with them.”
NO REST FOR THE WEARY: As for the short turnaround from the Northern Illinois trip, Brannen said Saturday wasn’t a day off at all. “Our bus pulled into the BB&T front lot at 4:40 a.m., and I didn’t get home until 5 a.m.,” he said. “We had a film prep on their personnel Saturday.
“We ran through our sets and offense on Saturday night, and we made 100 free throws apiece. Then we treated today’s shootaround as a practice and went pretty hard today.”
KEMI NORTHERN KENTUCKY BASKETBALL CLASSIC: NKU will play host to UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. Friday in the KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic. Coastal Carolina takes on Manhattan in the opener Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The KEMI Northern Kentucky Basketball Classic is part of a three-year partnership with the Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance, which includes the naming rights to NKU’s four-team round-robin basketball tournament.
When asked whether he’d rather play three straight games or practice three consecutive days, Sharpe chuckled and said, “Games for sure. It’s exciting, the fans will come to support us and that’s what we practice for — the games.”
