Sweet repeat! NKU captures second straight Horizon League Tournament championship, NCAA berth

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

INDIANAPOLIS — A new head coach. A completely different system. A one-time role player turned superstar performer.

Those unknown ingredients produced a familiar late-season storyline for Northern Kentucky, which captured its second straight Horizon League Tournament championship with a 71-62 win over Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday night. The Norse built a 17-point lead in the second half and held off a late rally to hoist the championship trophy for the third time in four years.

Jalen Tate scored 14 points, dished out four assists and grabbed four rebounds to lead NKU, which improved to 23-9 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Tate — who was voted the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year last week — was also named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Once viewed as a defensive stopper who wasn’t one of the team’s primary offensive weapons, Tate has emerged as NKU’s go-to player. The 6-foot-6 junior guard also proved to any publications that omitted him from preseason Horizon League honors that he’s Mr. Clutch in key moments.

Tate has plenty of help, too.

“We’ve been saying for a while now, if we could ever get healthy and just get three of our top four guys playing at a high level, we felt like we could be really good and do some damage,” said NKU head coach Darrin Horn, who celebrated his first Horizon League title on Tuesday night.

“Tonight all four of them were in double figures, led by the job Jalen did to start the game and just really set the tone on both ends of the floor with his aggressive play.”

Tate poured in all 14 of his points in the first half as NKU built a 34-24 lead at the break. He encountered foul trouble in the second half and picked up his fifth personal with 3:13 remaining, but the Norse owned a 62-46 advantage and survived a furious UIC comeback.

Earlier this season, Tate missed 10 games with a broken hand. During his absence, teammate Dantez Walton emerged as a potential All-America candidate until an injury sidelined the versatile senior forward. That paved the way for senior guard Tyler Sharpe, who stepped up and carried the team offensively for several games while Tate and Walton healed.

“The adversity probably made us stronger as the year went on,” Tate said, noting NKU’s starting lineup was rarely intact early in the season due to injuries. “Honestly, to get to this point is a great feeling.

“Compared to last year, it’s about the same. But it’s about expectations at this point. Just having that kind of target on your back, and being able to do it again makes it a little sweeter this time.”

Sharpe finished with 16 points and was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Bullitt East graduate also dished out three assists and added two steals. His second-half performance included a strong move attacking the basket that resulted in conventional three-point play. He later buried a 3-pointer that extended NKU’s lead to 51-38.

“I won’t say it’s the same feeling as last year, but I think it’s just as incredible,” Sharpe said of repeating as champions. “I feel like it’s a testament to the adversity we went through, all the ups and downs we went through.

“To be able to battle through all the injuries and a couple of tough losses. To be able to get where we wanted to be, I think is a testament to the coaches staying with us, and us as a team staying together. Not going out on an island, but fighting the adversity and coming together for a common goal.”

Trevon Faulkner played a key role in Tuesday’s win with 13 points and three steals. Walton added 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals. He also joined NKU’s 1,000-point club with a basket midway through the second half.

Paul Djoko provided NKU with a big lift off the bench by scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds. Bryson Langdon added seven points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Tarkus Ferguson scored 15 points to lead UIC, which dropped to 18-17. The Flames shot 43.6 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by a 37-24 margin. NKU, however, limited UIC to 3-for-15 shooting from 3-point range and forced 18 turnovers.

“We had a lot of open shots, I just think we didn’t make them,” Ferguson said. “They did. That’s it.”

After cutting down the nets and celebrating with a big contingent of NKU fans that made the trip to Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Horn said he appreciates the opportunity to coach such a successful program.

“These guys know how to win,” Horn said. “They’ve done it before. We didn’t have a (Drew) McDonald to throw it inside to this season, but we have very resilient guys who are really tough. I’m so proud of what this group has accomplished, but we’re not done yet. We still have a lot of basketball to play.”

NKU will find out its NCAA Tournament opponent on Sunday when the pairings are announced on national television.

“We’re going to be prepared when we find out,” Horn said, noting he believes NKU might be a 15 seed. “We’re going to try to be really good at what we do and hopefully make whoever we play adjust to us.”

NORTHERN KENTUCKY 71, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 62
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO (62)
Ferguson 4-10 5-6 15, Ottey 5-14 2-2 12, Diggins 6-8 0-3 13, Bridges 3-3 0-1 6, Blount 5-9 0-0 10, Boahen 1-8 2-2 4, Ahale 0-3 0-0 0, Wiley 0-0 2-4 2, Ejim 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 11-18 62.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (71)
Sharpe 5-12 4-7 16, Faulkner 4-5 3-6 13, Langdon 3-9 0-0 7, Tate 6-11 2-3 14, Walton 2-5 6-7 10, Nelson 1-2 0-0 2, Djoko 2-2 4-6 9, Adheke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-46 19-29 71.
HALFTIME: NKU 34-24. 3-POINTERS: (NKU 6-21, UIC 3-15). REBOUNDS: NKU 24 (Walton 9), UIC 37 (Diggins, Ferguson 7).
RECORDS: NKU 23-9, UIC 18-17.