A huge run over the final 12-minutes of the first half propelled the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team to a 96-56 victory in the season opener against Earlham.
Jeff Garrett set the tone during the decisive stretch by owning the boards on both ends of the court.
With the win, NKU starts the year, 1-0.
Garrett finished his collegiate debut stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Carson Williams led all scorers with 15 points on the strength of 6-for-7 shooting. Drew McDonald went 6-for-8 from the floor en route to 13 points.
Jalen Tate added 11 points, giving NKU four players in double-figures.
NKU closed the opening stanza on a 32-8 run over the final 11:33 to take a 48-22 advantage into halftime.
Garrett set the tone during the stretch on the boards, as he pulled down eight caroms in that run. He finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the first half.
Williams tallied 11 points to lead all scorers.
NKU matched its opening-half point total with 48.
Northern Kentucky shot a blistering 75 percent (21-of-28) in the second half, while recording 14 assists.
Norse Notes
· Seven players made their collegiate debut for NKU tonight, and all seven found the scoring column.
· NKU registered 23 assists on 38 made baskets. The last time Northern Kentucky posted 20 or more assists came in last season’s game against IU-Kokomo on Dec. 23, 2015, when the Norse had 24.
· NKU’s blistering second-half shooting is the second time in the John Brannen era when the Norse converted more than 70 percent shooting in a half. Against Norfolk State last season, NKU converted 74.1 percent (20-of-27) in the second stanza.
Up Next
· A road date with Illinois in Champaign, Illinois, awaits the Norse on Sunday, Nov. 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (CT).
Sycamores down Norse in Terre Haute
Northern Kentucky women’s basketball was handed its first loss of the season in the 2016-17 opener, falling to Indiana State on the road, 58-38.
unior forward Kasey Uetrecht led the Norse in scoring as the only player in double figures with 10 points. She also added six rebounds to her stat line. Senior guard Kelley Wiegman posted eight points, and redshirt-senior Rebecca Lyttle added five points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
Uetrecht and junior guard Mikayla Terry led the team in assists with two apiece.
The Norse got off to a quick start, going up 11-5 after shooting 5-of-7 from the floor while holding the Sycamores to 1-of-6 shooting. However, those numbers quickly dipped as the Norse were held scoreless for more than 10 minutes. In that time, ISU was able to go up 14-11 before Kasey Uetrecht quenched the drought.
The score stood at just 17-17, led by six points from Kelley Wiegman. Rebecca Lyttle added five points and had a team-high five rebounds. The team shot 7-of-22 for 31.8% and was fruitless from 3-point range with no makes on five attempts. Indiana State was held to 6-of-28 shooting for a 21.4% clip from the field.
Indiana State upped the efficiency in the third quarter, connecting on 10 shots out of 16 attempts, while NKU went 4-of-18. The Norse shot 4-of-18 in the third quarter and 4-of-19 in the fourth quarter. Uetrecht led the team in the second half with eight points, scoring six in the fourth quarter alone.
Norse Notes
· NKU started with the lineup of Molly Glick, Rebecca Lyttle, Mikayla Terry, Kasey Uetrecht and Kelley Wiegman.
· Four Norse made their career debuts: redshirt-freshman Taryn Taugher and true freshmen Hannah Clark, Hayley Combs and Laura Thomas.
· NKU shot 15-of-59 from the field for 25.4%, and made just two 3-pointers on 16 attempts. Uetrecht and Clark were the only Norse to sink a triple.
· The Norse had 27 turnovers, 18 of which were by way of Sycamore steals.
· Indiana State held the advantage in every statistical category, shooting 34.4% for the game and pulling down 48 rebounds. Indiana State also outscored in the paint, 30-26 and had 16 points off NKU turnovers.
Up Next
· NKU opens up the home regular season by hosting Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside BB&T arena.
From NKU Athletics