By Bryan McEldowney
NKU Athletics Communication
Lavone Holland II and Drew McDonald set the tone in Northern Kentucky’s finale of the Tarkett Sports Classic, which saw the Norse down host Miami (Ohio), 79-70, at John D. Millett Hall on Sunday afternoon. Northern Kentucky improved to 3-2 on the year, while Miami dropped to 2-3.
NKU and Austin Peay tied with a 2-1 record in the event and both McDonald and Holland were named to the all-tournament team.
STATS LEADERS
· Holland posted a team-best 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the floor. He also added a game-high five assists and four rebounds in the win.
· On the strength of 7-for-16 shooting, McDonald tallied 23 points. He finished with nine rebounds, one shy of recording a third-straight double-double, and chipped in four assists.
TURNING POINT
·The Norse held a slim three-point lead with 9:07 left in the game, when they went on an 11-3 run to push ahead by 11, 61-50. NKU weathered seven-consecutive points from Miami and used baskets from Holland and McDonald to keep the margin at two scores.
· Northern Kentucky sealed the game at the free-throw line, going 12-for-14 at the charity stripe in the last minute.
FIRST-HALF SUMMARY
·Holland converted 5-of-9 shots in the opening stanza to lead NKU to a 34-28 advantage.
·Trailing 21-16 with 7:49 left in the half, Northern Kentucky outscored Miami 18-7 the rest of the way.
·NKU’s defense stiffened and held Miami without a field-goal for the final 6:46 of the half. The RedHawks converted just 11-of-27 (41 percent) of their attempts.
· As it has done through the first four games of the season, NKU held a strong 20-12 lead in rebounding. McDonald and Garrett hauled in five during the stanza.
·The Norse shot 48 percent (12-of-25), including 44 percent (4-of-9) from long range.
SECOND-HALF SUMMARY
·Northern Kentucky extended its six-point half-time margin to as many as 11 with 5-minutes left in the game.
·After Miami went on a 7-point spurt, Holland and McDonald responded with baskets to squelch the run.
·The RedHawks attempted to stretch the game over the final minute, but Holland, McDonald and Jordan Garnett combined to go 12-of-14 at the free-throw line.
·Cole Murray scored all 11 points in the second half, including a trio of threes as he went 3-for-6 from the floor for the second-straight game.
GAME NOTES
·In the three games of the Tarkett Sports Classic, McDonald averaged 24.0 points and 11.3 rebounds. He shot 48 percent (23-of-48) from the field and 85 percent (23-of-27) at the line.
·Holland averaged 15.3 points and 5.0 assists per game during the tournament. He also posted a 2.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
· For the fifth game in a row Northern Kentucky won the rebound battle, outrebounding Miami, 38-31. Dating back at least 10 years, this is the longest streak of games in which NKU won the battle of the boards.
· In the Division I era, Northern Kentucky has been above .500 twice. Both of those times have come this season.
·The last time NKU had two players score 20 or more points in a game came in last season’s 90-73 victory at Oakland (Jan. 19, 2016) when Jalen Billups and Tyler White scored 22 and 20, respectively.
NEXT UP
·Northern Kentucky returns to BB&T Arena for a showdown with North Carolina Central on Saturday, Nov. 26. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
2016 Tarkett Sports Classic All-Tournament Team
Josh Robinson (MVP) – Austin Peay
Kenny Jones – Austin Peay
Drew McDonald – Northern Kentucky
Lavone Holland II – Northern Kentucky
Michael Weathers – Miami
Cazmon Hayes – Delaware