The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball play made some key plays down the stretch to top Iona, 85-72, in the semifinals of The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. The Norse will now play Vermont in the championship game of the tournament.
STATS LEADERS
· Carson Williams led all scorers with 20 points. He also had six rebounds and three assists in the contest.
· Drew McDonald and Jalen Tate had 15 and 14 points, respectively, and Lavone Holland II recorded 11 points in the contest.
TURNING POINT
· Holland II hit two 3-pointers in the last 2:21 of the contest to help put the game out of reach.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
· The Norse never trailed throughout the first period and took a 45-33 lead into the half.
· The 12-point differential was the largest lead of the half for NKU.
· Williams had 13 points for the Norse on 6-of-7 shooting in half, and McDonald added 10 points on a 4-of-8 performance from the floor.
· Williams went on a 7-0 run by himself in just 1:11, starting at the 7:30 mark. The run also included Williams’ first career three-pointer.
· NKU went 18-of-32 (56.3%) on field goals during the half. The Norse had 14 assists on those 18 field goals, compared to just four assists for Iona.
· The Gaels were 11-of-26 (42.3%) from the floor in the first half.
· NKU had a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint, and the Norse forced Iona to commit 11 turnovers in the period.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
· The Norse got the lead up to 13 early in the second half, but the Gaels were able to chip away at it, cutting the score down to 54-52 with 13:53 to play.
· Dantez Walton’s layup at 10:49 helped the Norse take a six-point lead, but Iona closed the gap to 61-60 with just under eight minutes left in the contest.
· Mason Faulkner was fouled on a three-point attempt with 4:55 to play, and he converted all three of his free throws to put the Norse ahead 68-62.
· Iona would not get any closer than four points down the stretch.
· Walton scored all nine of his points in the half to help NKU to the victory.
· The Norse shot 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the field in the half.
GAME NOTES
· Iona has made two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and the Gaels were picked as the preseason favorites to win the MAAC this year.
· NKU had eight players score in the contest, including four players in double digits.
· The Norse finished the game 31-of-56 (55.4%) from the floor and tallied 23 assists, with all five starters registering at least three.
· This was NKU’s second win over a 2017 NCAA Tournament team, as the team defeated East Tennessee State earlier in the season.
NEXT UP
· NKU will play Vermont in the championship game of The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
#TakeNotice
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
