NKU remains perfect at home (10-0) with 73-58 win over Illinois-Chicago on Sunday night at BB&T Arena

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

Basketball teams that effectively protect their home court are usually those competing for league championships and NCAA Tournament berths.

That simple bit of conventional hoops wisdom is particularly evident at Northern Kentucky University, which has tenaciously defended its home floor the past three years — like in a 33-4 record. It’s made BB&T Arena one of the toughest venues in the Horizon League for visiting teams to escape with a victory.

Just ask the players and coaches at Illinois-Chicago, which has dropped four straight games at NKU after suffering a 73-58 defeat to the Norse on Sunday night. Jalen Tate netted a career-high 25 points and dished out six assists as NKU (12-3 overall, 2-0 Horizon League) improved to 10-0 at home this season.

Tate scored 22 points during the first half as the Norse built a 44-28 lead. His previous career-high scoring output was 17 points against Wilmington (Ohio) earlier this season, but the 6-foot-6 sophomore came off the bench and aggressively attacked the basket Sunday. He also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first half.

“In the first half, I came in with the mentality that I needed to bring energy,” Tate said. “We got off to a slow start, and I just came into the game in the attack mode.”

Tate scored 14 of NKU’s first 18 points. He also capped the first half with a basket in the final seconds to extend the Norse’s cushion to 44-28.

“He carried us offensively in the first half,” said Drew McDonald, who added a career-high 20 rebounds and 19 points. “I didn’t have it going, and a couple of other guys didn’t have it going, but that’s OK because that’s the type of team we have. Someone is going to step up every night, and Jalen really put the team on his back in the first half to give us a big lead.”

McDonald notched his fourth straight double-double and became the first NKU player to grab at least 20 rebounds in a game since Dec. 18, 1972, when Jim McMillan hauled in 23 boards against Anderson (Ind.). The Cold Spring native has now collected double-doubles in 16 of his past 22 games against Horizon League opponents.

“It’s league play, it was physical in there, and I wasn’t hitting shots, but my goal is to contribute any way I can every game and if my shots aren’t falling, I can go in there and get rebounds,” said McDonald, who finished 4-for-16 from the field. “A lot of my offensive rebounds were off my misses. I was just following them up.”

NKU head coach John Brannen agreed about the physical inside play, but he also playfully joked about McDonald’s 20 rebounds. “(Drew) and I have a special relationships, so I mess with him. In order to get 20 rebounds, you have to miss a lot of shots, and he missed a lot of shots,” Brannen said with a chuckle. “But the guy had 14 defensive rebounds. He’s an elite rebounder. The guards are mad because they aren’t getting any rebounds because Drew is getting all of them.”

McDonald’s performance marked the first time a Horizon League player has reached at least 20 rebounds since Feb. 12, 2011, when Norris Cole of Cleveland State grabbed 20 boards against Youngstown State.

Joining Tate and McDonald in double figures was Dantez Walton, who drained five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. He also added eight rebounds despite playing on a tender ankle as NKU finished with a commanding 46-27 edge on the glass.

“To win the rebounding battle tonight by almost 20, you’re going to put yourself in position to win a lot of games,” Brannen said.

Marcus Ottey led UIC (7-8 overall, 1-1 Horizon League) with 18 points. The Flames were held to just 36.5 percent shooting from the field and were 5-for-25 from 3-point range.

“I really like this UIC team, they are very dynamic and their guards are really fast,” Brannen said. “They’re a very good team and one that’s going to be reckoned with in our league.”

Brannen was also impressed by Tate’s all-around performance, especially his first-half scoring binge.

“He was outstanding, and he got it going a little earlier than he normally does,” Brannen said. “It speaks to his preparation this week, because it’s been really good. Jalen’s been very good in film this week and preparation this morning was outstanding, and it shows in the game with 25 points, six assists and draws eight fouls. That’s an outstanding performance.”

Most importantly, NKU remained perfect at home this season. “Coming off last season’s regular-season championship, we know that to win it, you have to defend your home floor,” McDonald said. “UIC was coming off a big win at Wright State. We knew they were playing aggressive and playing well coming in here, but we focused on defending our home floor. If we do that and win road games that we can on the road, it’ll put us in good position in the league.”

The Norse shot 45.8 percent from the field and ere 8-for-21 from beyond the arc. NKU is now 6-1 all-time against UIC and has won five straight in the series.

NKU travels to Rochester, Mich., on Thursday to meet Oakland at 7 p.m. The Norse conclude the two-game road swing Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest at Detroit Mercy.

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport