The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team defeated Cleveland State by a final score of 70-55 at BB&T Arena on Monday night. The Norse move to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in Horizon League play. Cleveland State falls to 4-15 and 1-5 in the League.
STATS LEADERS
Mason Faulkner led all scorers with 16 points. He also added five rebounds.
Drew McDonald contributed 14 points and eight rebounds on the night.
Carson Williams just missed out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Lavone Holland II added eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
TURNING POINT
NKU and Cleveland State were tied 17-17 with 6:27 to play in the second half. The Norse then went on an 11-0 run to take a 28-17 advantage. NKU extended its lead in the second half to put the game out of reach.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
With the score tied 17-17 at the 6:27 minute mark of the first half, the Norse proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to take a 28-17 lead.
Faulkner started the run with back-to-back three-pointers. Holland was fouled on a three-point attempt, and he converted all three of his free throw attempts. McDonald added two free throws to close out the run.
The Norse took a 37-21 lead into halftime.
NKU shot 11-of-25 (44.0%) in the first half, including a 6-of-11 (54.5%) performance from the three-point line.
The Norse held Cleveland State to 9-of-27 (33.3%) shooting in the first half, which included a 0-of-11 showing from behind the arc.
McDonald led the Norse with 10 points in the half, and Holland and Faulkner each added eight points.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
Cleveland State did not get any closer than 13 points in the second half.
NKU led by as much as 25 points in the half. Jeff Garret’s slam dunk allowed the Norse to take a 58-33 lead with 8:33 to play in the game.
Williams had three dunks within a span of 1:30 (4:50, 3:59, and 3:20).
The Norse went on to win by a final score of 70-55.
NKU shot 14-of-31 (45.2%) from the floor and Cleveland shot 12-of-29 (41.4%) on field goals.
The Norse finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line during the half.
GAME NOTES
The Norse have now won eight home games this season (8-1 record at BB&T Arena).
NKU forced 16 turnovers, thanks in part to 10 steals.
The Norse had 15 assists on 25 made field goals.
NKU had a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint.
The Norse also outscored Cleveland State 25-7 in points off turnovers.
NKU had 16 fast-break points, compared to none for Cleveland State.
The Norse finished the game shooting 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the floor, and held Cleveland State to 21-of-56 (37.5%).
Cleveland State shot just 8-to-25 (32.0%) from behind the three-point line.
NEXT UP
· NKU travels to Milwaukee on Thursday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
#TakeNotice
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
