Northern Kentucky University
The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team earned its first postseason victory as a Division I program on Sunday, defeating No. 5-seeded Wright State, 82-77, behind strong shooting in the Horizon League quarterfinals at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
With the top three seeds already falling in tournament play, the No. 4-seed Norse are now the highest seeded team remaining in the Horizon League Tournament.
No. 3 seed Green Bay was defeated by UIC in the Sunday game that preceded the Norse victory.
No. 1 seed Oakland and No. 2 seed Valparaiso fell to Youngstown State and Milwaukee, respectively, in Saturday action.
The team that wins the tournament earns an automatic berth in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Norse (22-10) will take on No. 9-seed Youngstown State (13-20) on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Joe Louis Arena in the semifinals of Motor City Madness.
STAT LEADERS
- Carson Williams paced the Norse offense with 17 total points, including 15 in the second half alone. He shot 6-for-7 from the floor to help the Norse shoot 50.9 percent from the feild in the game including 66.7 percent in the second half.
- Williams led four players in double-figures and also registered five rebounds.
- Lavone Holland II closely followed with 16 points and was an assist shy of a double-double. He posted just two turnovers on his career-high tying nine assists and also came away with a block and a steal. This is the second-straight game Holland has dished nine assists.
- Mason Faulkner notched 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting from the floor while Jordan Garnett matched him with 10 total points, nine of which came in the second half.
- Drew McDonald and Dantez Walton led NKU with six rebounds apiece.
TURNING POINT
- Neither team led by more than seven points until Northern Kentucky rode a 14-5 run at the midway point of the second period. The run helped the Norse claim a 49-58 lead with 8:20 remaining in the game as the led the rest of the way.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Write State opened on a 9-2 run across the first five minutes of play.
- NKU then held WSU to a stretch of 1-of-7 shooting for a 3:05 minute scoring drought to close the gap.
- A Walton layup at the 9:35 mark gave NKU its first lead of the game at 13-12.
- The teams traded buckets until a Gillis triple sparked an 8-2 NKU run, which Holland contributed four points to the spurt. The run helped NKU get out to a 21-17 advantage with 5:38 left in the half.
- The Raiders scored six-straight to take back the lead at 23-21 with 3:57 on the clock.
- The Norse regained control of the game and out-scored WSU, 8-4, throughout the remainder of the half to lead 29-27 at halftime.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- The teams traded leads throughout the first six minutes of the second period.
- With Wright State leading by one, Garrett scored five-straight points to put the Norse up, 40-36, with 13:22 left.
- Wright State would tie it up at 44-44 with 11:13 left, but the Norse fought off the Raiders with a 14-5 run that put NKU ahead, 58-49 with 8:20 to play.
- NKU’s run was fueled by a nine minute span that saw the Norse connect 12-of-12 attempts from the field.
- The Raiders’ Grant Benzinger scored 18 second-half points, including six threes, to keep the Raiders within single digits until the 3:12 mark when a Williams dunk handed the Norse a 73-63 advantage.
- Northern Kentucky led by at least seven points until the final minute. Wright State came back within four with just eight seconds remaining.
GAME NOTES
- NKU forced 10 WSU turnovers in the first half alone and 14 total. The Norse scored 18 points off turnovers while the Raiders scored seven points off eight NKU miscues. Northern Kentucky committed just eight turnovers, matching its season low.
- The Norse are 12-2 when four or more players score in double figures.
- All nine Norse players who saw action scored at least three points while seven different players scored at least seven points.
- Holland has 33 points and 18 assists in the last two games. Further, the junior has 71 points and 30 assists across the last four contests.
NKyTribune staff contributed to this story