Fueled by a 30-point performance in the first half, sophomore Drew McDonald posted a career-high 37 points to go with 10 rebounds for his third-straight double-double as he led the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team over Horizon League foe Cleveland State, 83-75, on Saturday afternoon at BB&T Arena.
The victory was Northern Kentucky’s fifth-straight at home as the Norse improve to 12-5 on the season and open League play at 3-1. The Vikings dip to 5-11 overall and 1-3 in the League.
STAT LEADERS
McDonald’s 37 points is a Division-I era record and the most since Dec. 23, 2009 when David Palmer scored 39 against UC Clermont.
In addition to posting his third-straight game with a double-double, McDonald notched his team-leading seventh double-double of the season. The sophomore went 11-for-15 from the field including 5-for-6 from three and 10-for-11 from the free throw line in his 33 minutes of play.
Mason Faulkner joined McDonald in double figures for the third-straight game, racking up 16 points with the help of a 7-for-10 performance from the line.
With nine points from Jordan Garnett and eight points from both Carson Williams and Cole Murray, the Norse narrowly missed their fourth-straight game with at least four players in double figures.
Williams also added eight rebounds while Lavone Holland II had a game-high five assists.
TURNING POINT
NKU held a 43-33 lead at halftime. Cleveland State out-scored the Norse, 13-3, across the first five minutes of the second period to come back within single digits. The teams traded momentum as NKU responded with a 10-2 run that saw five points from Murray to restore NKU’s double digit lead, 61-48, at the midway point of the half.
The double digit lead stuck until the final minute of play.
McDonald opened the game shooting 5-for-6 from the floor including 4-for-4 from long range to singlehandedly give the Norse a 14-3 lead just five minutes into the game. Holland dished out the assist on all four of McDonald’s triples.
Ten uninterrupted points from Cleveland State and a pair of Norse turnovers cut NKU’s advantage to 16-15 with 12:04 left in the half.
NKU rebuilt an eight-point lead, 27-19, at 7:27 the mark with a 9-2 run fueled by seven points from Faulkner.
McDonald added another 16 points across the final 7:55 of the half as the Norse and Vikings traded buckets throughout the remainder of the period.
The teams saw similar success from the floor as NKU shot 55.6 percent (15-for-27) to CSU’s 50.0 percent (14-for-28) in the period.
Northern Kentucky issued an 8-for-9 showing from the charity stripe to Cleveland State’s 0-4 showing to give NKU its 43-33 halftime lead.
A three-point play from McDonald one minute into the second half gave him 33 points, which was tied with CSU’s team total as he eclipsed his previous career-high mark of 32 and put the Norse ahead, 46-33.
CSU’s 13-5 run across the first five minutes of the half brought the Vikings within five at 51-46 with 15:12 to play.
Seven uninterrupted points helped NKU counter with its 10-2 run to take control and lead it, 61-48 with 10:57 to go.
A late 7-0 run from the Vikings brought them back within single digits with 41 seconds remaining, but it would be too late as NKU sealed the victory from the free-throw line, capping off a 19-for-23 showing from the charity stripe.
GAME NOTES
Entering the game, NKU had eight 30-point performances or better dating back to the 2003-04 season when Mike Kelsey scored a program-record 50 points against Indianapolis on January 2, 2004. Kelsey recorded 37 points across the second half and single overtime period.
McDonald increased his team-leading points per game average to 16.7 as he posted his team-best seventh game this season with 20 points or more and second with 30 points or more.
With his third-straight double-figure performance, Faulkner is now averaging 14.8 points per League contest while McDonald is averaging 19.3 against Horizon League foes.
McDonald came within three points of tying Youngstown State’s Cameron Morse with the League’s season-high mark of 40 points in a single game.
NKU improves to 10-1 when at least one player posts 20 or more points.
The Norse are shooting 51.2 percent (59-for-114) across the last two games and 47.0 percent (111-of-236) against Horizon League foes.
With its fifth-straight win at BB&T Arena, the Norse improve to 6-1 at home.
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky continues Horizon League play on Tuesday, Jan. 10 when they travel to Green Bay for an 8 p.m. ET tilt.
From NKU Athletics