The Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team on Friday night by a final score of 83-70. Oakland moves to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the Horizon League. NKU falls to 14-7 and 7-2 in League play.
STATS LEADERS
· Drew McDonald had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
· Mason Faulkner added 15 points and five assists.
· Dantez Walton contributed 13 points and five rebounds.
· Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn led all scorers with 33 points.
TURNING POINT
· A three-point play by Drew McDonald and a layup by Walton got the Norse to within four points at 61-57 with 6:16 to play in the game. However, Oakland scored the next five points, and NKU was unable to overcome the deficit.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
· Oakland got out to a 14-7 lead at the first media timeout. Nunn had 11 points in the first 4:52 of the half. He ended the first half with 14 points, as the Norse held him to without a field goal over the last 11:38 of the half.
· The Golden Grizzlies led by as much as 12 in the half and took a 36-32 lead into halftime as the Norse used a 7-2 run to close the half and whittle the deficit.
· Oakland shot 13-of-26 (50.0%) from the floor and 5-of-12 (41.7%) from beyond the arc.
· NKU went 12-of-34 (35.3%) on field goals in the half and 5-of-15 (33.3%) from the three-point line.
· The Norse had a 20-16 rebounding advantage in the first half, which included nine offensive rebounds.
· McDonald had eight points in the half for NKU, and Faulkner and Walton each contributed seven points.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
· NKU got within two points multiple times early in the second half, but Oakland built its lead back up to 12 points at 54-42 with 13:34 to play in the period.
· The Norse cut the lead to 61-57 with 6:16 to play in the half, but Oakland scored the next five points. NKU was unable to overcome the deficit, and the Golden Grizzlies went on to win by a final score of 83-70.
· Oakland went 16-of-30 (53.3%) from the floor in the half, and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from the three-point line.
· NKU shot 15-of-31 (48.4%) on field goals and went 1-of-10 (10%) from behind the arc.
GAME NOTES
· The Norse shot 27-of-65 (41.5%) on field goals during the game, and 6-of-25 (24.0%) from the three-point line.
· Oakland went 29-of-56 (51.8%) from the floor and 9-of-21 (42.9%) from behind the arc.
· NKU outscored Oakland 38-30 in points in the paint.
· The Norse also had a 32-3 advantage in bench points and an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
· Tonight’s crowd of 5,362 at BB&T Arena was the fourth-largest attendance for an NKU NCAA basketball home game.
NEXT UP
· The Norse will host Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Jan. 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at BB&T Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
