Drew McDonald and Lavone Holland II each recorded a double-double, and Tyler Sharpe added a career-high 19 points, as the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team rolled past Milwaukee on Thursday evening, 91-64. The Norse move to 13-6 overall and 6-1 in Horizon League play. Milwaukee falls to 9-12 and 2-6 in League play.
STATS LEADERS
McDonald notched his eighth double-double of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Holland also had a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists. He finished a perfect 7-of-7 on field goals in the game and also added seven rebounds.
Sharpe scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including a 5-of-6 performance from behind the arc.
TURNING POINT
The Norse went on an 11-2 run with 3:30 remaining in the first half to go ahead 49-23 at halftime. The big lead proved to be too much for Milwaukee to come back from.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
The Norse steadily built their lead and closed the half on an 11-2 run to take a 49-23 lead into halftime.
NKU’s 49 first half points match the team’s high in any half this season against a Division I opponent. NKU also scored 49 against UIC in the first half.
The Norse converted 56 percent (20-of-36) of their attempts, while stifling defense limited the Panthers to only 30 percent (9-of-30) from the floor.
Three runs of at least six unanswered-points sparked the Norse. And, NKU answered every Milwaukee score with a score of its own.
Northern Kentucky also owned points in the paint, 28-8.
McDonald had 15 points in the half, and Holland added 13.
Holland was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor, including 1-for-1 from three. He also made both free throw attempts.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
The Norse were able to maintain a sizable advantage and led by as much as 30 in the half.
Sharpe hit a 3-point basket on back-to-back possessions at 13:44 and 13:04. He finished 4-of-4 from the floor in the half, including a 3-of-3 performance from behind the arc for 11 points in the stanza.
Toward the end of the half, NKU converted seven-straight field goals.
The Norse also held Milwaukee without a field goal over the final 3:23 of the game and won the outing by a final score of 91-64.
Northern Kentucky shot 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the floor and 5-of-8 (62.5%) on three-point attempts during the half.
GAME NOTES
Holland becomes the first NKU player to record a double-double in points and assists since Scott Bibbens achieved the feat on Jan. 18, 2010.
This is the second time this season that NKU had two players record a double-double in the same game. McDonald and Jeff Garrett each had a double-double against Wilmington on Nov. 12, 2017,
The Norse have now won three-straight road conference games for the first time in the Division I era of the program.
NKU also had significant contributions from Jalen Tate (six assists) and Dantez Walton (six points and five rebounds).
NKU finished with a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint.
The Norse bench also outscored Milwaukee’s bench 31-16.
NKU recorded 20 assists on 36 made field goals.
The Norse shot 36-of-60 (60.0%) from the floor during the game, including a 10-of-21 (48.0%) performance from the three-point line.
NEXT UP
NKU will remain in Wisconsin to face Green Bay on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
#TakeNotice
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
