By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
Given the fact Drew McDonald and Tyler Sharpe had carried the offensive burden for Northern Kentucky University most of the evening, it was only appropriate that they combined for a superlative defensive stand in the final seconds against Milwaukee.
With NKU holding a precarious 54-52 lead and less than 10 seconds remaining, Milwaukee’s Jeremiah Bell launched a 3-pointer that was tightly contested by Sharpe. The ball rimmed out, hit the backboard and danced on the rim again for a split second before being retrieved by the Panthers’ Bryce Barnes.
Many in the BB&T Arena crowd of 4,819 let out collective sighs of relief after the last-second defensive heroics allowed NKU to escape with the win and improve to 18-7 overall, 11-2 in the Horizon League.
As a result, NKU remained in a first-place tie with Wright State — which also pulled out a victory in the final seconds Thursday night against Green Bay — in the Horizon League standings.
Sharpe, who earned his first start of the season Thursday, responded by scoring 12 points. But it was his defense in the final seconds that made the biggest impression.
“I knew they were going to run an [isolation], and the way [Bell] took it over to the wing, I could tell they were clearing out,” Sharpe said of the final possession. “I had to get a stop for my team and the crowd. When he pulled up, I just locked in and sit down [defensively] to get a stop.”
McDonald, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, praised Sharpe’s defensive efforts against Bell.
“What he did on that last possession, it really won the game,” said McDonald, whose subsequent block sealed the victory. “Bell didn’t get past him. He drove baseline, Tyler was right there. He backed it out, and at that point it’s a one-possession game.
“Jeremiah is a really good basketball player, so the way Tyler kept him in front and made him take a real tough shot just speaks of what he does every day at practice.”
Milwaukee head coach Pat Baldwin said his team executed the final possession just as it had been designed.
“The ball was in the hands of the guy we wanted at the end,” Baldwin said of Bell’s 3-point attempt. “We drew up a play for him. He got off as good of a shot as what we could have drawn up at the end and it just didn’t go in.”
NKU responded with a 16-5 spurt that Sharpe and McDonald spearheaded by combining for 13 points. Sharpe buried consecutive 3-pointers to give the Norse a 48-41 lead with 6:23 left on the clock, forcing Milwaukee to call a timeout.
McDonald, however, was whistled for his fourth foul with 5:16 remaining, and Milwaukee rallied from a 50-42 deficit to pull to within 52-50 on a Barnes 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining.
In need of points, NKU went to McDonald, who converted a jumper with 1:23 left on the clock to extend the lead to 54-50. Barnes, however, countered with a basket to slice the Norse advantage to 54-52 with a minute remaining.
NKU was unable to convert on the offensive end and Milwaukee took possession with 29.9 seconds left, setting the stage for Sharpe and McDonald to star in a tag-team defensive gem at the finish.
“You have to grind out games in this league, and at the end of the year they don’t count how many points you won by,” NKU head coach John Brannen said. “The guys did a great job on the last possession. Tyler Sharpe guarded for 29.9 seconds, from literally baseline-to-baseline. Then back again to half-court, and then back to the 3-point line. He did a tremendous job in that situation.”
Barnes scored 13 points to lead Milwaukee, which dropped to 13-14 overall, 6-8 in the Horizon League. The Panthers had won four of their previous five games, with 6-foot-7 forward Bryce Nze collecting three straight double-doubles going into Thursday night.
NKU limited Nze to five points, but he did haul in nine rebounds as Milwaukee finished with a 36-31 edge on the glass.
NKU shot just 41.2 percent from the field, while Milwaukee made just 35.6 percent of its attempts.
“I told the guys all week we had to dictate tempo,” Brannen said. “The way you dictate tempo is you get stops, clean stops.”
Milwaukee, however, pounded the boards for 13 offensive rebounds. “We got stops, but they would get an offensive rebound or something,” Brannen said. “We could not get out in transition, and it became a half-court game.”
Lavone Holland II finished with six points, six assists and five rebounds for NKU, which is now 5-3 all-time against Milwaukee. The Norse, who entered Thursday ranked 26th nationally in assists (17.0 apg), dished out 15 helpers against Milwaukee.
Dating back to last season, NKU has won 26 of its past 34 games (.764) against Horizon League opponents. That includes the Norse’s three victories during the Horizon League Tournament last year.
NKU will conclude the homestand Saturday at 7 p.m. against Green Bay (10-17, 5-9 Horizon League) at BB&T Arena. That will also be NKU’s 2018 homecoming game.
Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport