By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
INDIANAPOLIS — It was all there for the taking Sunday afternoon when Northern Kentucky University visited IUPUI.
The outright Horizon League regular-season championship. The top seed in Motor City Madness. And a guaranteed spot in the NIT, if necessary.
NKU needed a victory to wrap everything up, making the late game on Sunday between Wright State and Illinois-Chicago irrelevant to the Norse’s postseason plans. And NKU embraced the opportunity, cruising to a 75-56 win over IUPUI and capturing the Horizon League regular-season title and No. 1 seed.
“Our guys played great defensively,” NKU head coach John Brannen said after his team held IUPUI to 17 points in the first half. “Our first-shot defense was excellent. We also pressed them effectively and were really good in transition.”
Drew McDonald added 15 points and 11 rebounds for NKU, which led by as many as 26 points (63-37) in the second half. Dantez Walton chipped in 11 points, while teammates Jalen Tate and Tyler Sharpe each finished with nine points.
Walton also added three rebounds, a block and a steal in his second straight starting assignment.
“Dantez is playing with a lot of confidence and staying focused, and he’s done a great job in practice,” Brannen said of the sophomore from Lima, Ohio. “He’s been a big part of our rotation the entire season, but he’s done a very good job in the starting role the past two games.”
IUPUI (11-18 overall, 8-10 Horizon League) entered Sunday having won three consecutive games, including a 66-56 upset against Wright State on Friday. But the Jaguars made just five field goals in 24 attempts (20.8 percent) during the first half against the pressuring NKU defense.
NKU senior forward Jordan Garnett, an Indianapolis native playing in his hometown, was among the Norse defenders who disrupted the IUPUI offense the entire afternoon.
“Jordan has been playing outstanding the last few weeks,” Brannen said. “He’s had some special moments in his hometown wearing an NKU uniform, the NCAA Tournament last year and now today.”
NKU shot 51 percent from the field and was 8-for-25 from 3-point range. The Norse limited IUPUI to 30.2 percent shooting for the game and forced 18 turnovers.
Ron Patterson and T.J. Henderson each scored 14 points to lead IUPUI, which is the No. 5 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The Jaguars will face No. 4 seed Oakland in the first round.
For Brannen, winning the regular-season championship has special meaning. His Norse captured the Horizon League Tournament title last season in its first year of eligibility to qualify for the NCAA’s March Madness.
“To win the regular-season title is the truest form of a championship because you have to go through an 18-game schedule,” he said. “This championship speaks of our players, their toughness and resiliency to go through the grind of that 18-game schedule in the league. It’s a great accomplishment, but we still have a lot work to do and more games to play.”
Top-seeded NKU begins play March 3 at Motor City Madness in Detroit, where the Norse will meet the Youngstown State/Cleveland State winner. Youngstown State (the No. 9 seed) and Cleveland State (the No. 8 seed) play on March 2.
NKU’s game on March 3 is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport