Drew McDonald reached the 1,000-point milestone on Saturday evening, as the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team rolled past Morehead State by a final score of 86-49. The Norse improve to 6-2 on the season and 4-0 at BB&T Arena, while the Eagles drop to 2-6.
STATS LEADERS
· Five NKU players scored in double figures, led by McDonald with 22 points.
· Lavone Holland II finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and Carson Williams chipped in 13 points.
· Jeff Garrett and Jalen Tate each added 10 points for the Norse. Garrett was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and added a game-high seven boards.
TURNING POINT
· Leading by 13 points, the Norse outscored Morehead State 34-10 over the final 13:48 of the second half to put the game well out of reach.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
· The Norse started the game on a 7-0 run, with McDonald scoring five points in the spurt.
· NKU scored 12-straight near the midway point of the half to extend its lead to 13, and the team took a 38-28 lead into halftime courtesy of an falling out-of-bound three by Holland.
· The Norse shot 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) from the floor in the half, including 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from deep. NKU held Morehead State to 2-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc and 12-of-26 (46.2 percent).
· NKU forced 11 turnovers thanks in part to four steals, and the Norse scored 14 points off of those turnovers.
· The Norse had an 18-10 advantage in points in the paint during the half.
· McDonald and Holland led NKU in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
· McDonald went on an 11-0 run by himself to start the second half. At the 18:43 minute mark, he hit a 3-point attempt to give him 1,000 points in his career.
· The Norse put together their most complete offensive half of the young season. NKU shot a blistering 18-of-25 (72.0%) from the floor, which included an 8-of-11 (72.7%) performance from beyond the arc.
· After not scoring any points in the first half, Williams tallied 13 all within a span of 3:28 in the middle of the second stanza.
· The Norse held Morehead State to 7-of-25 (28.0%) shooting in the period and outscored the Eagles, 48-21.
GAME NOTES
· McDonald is now the 26th player in NKU history to reach 1,000 career points, and he reached the mark in his 73rd game.
· McDonald is also just the second player to achieve the feat for NKU solely in the Division I era. He joins Tyler White, who scored 1,114 points from 2012-13 to 2015-16.
· McDonald and his mother, Christie (Freppon) McDonald become NKU’s first mother/son duo to join the 1,000-point club. His mother is 12th all-time in scoring for NKU women’s basketball with 1,339 points (109 games from 1987-88 and 1990-91).
· The Norse finished the game with a 36-16 points in the paint advantage. NKU also forced 21 turnovers, which led to 35 points off of those turnovers.
NEXT UP
· NKU travel to East Tennessee State on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The Norse won a matchup against ETSU earlier this year on Nov. 10 by a final score of 81-63. That game was the season-opener for both teams.
#TakeNotice
Ryan Wilker
Northern Kentucky University
Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
