A career-high 25 points from senior Tyler White on Monday night helped the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team challenge crosstown rival No. 23 Xavier in a 78-66 setback at the Cintas Center.
White reached his career mark after an 8-of-9 performance from the free throw line and 7-of-16 shooting from the floor, including three treys.
White was joined in double-figure scoring by Lavone Holland with 11 points. Holland also registered a team-high five assists and eight boards, including seven on the defensive end.
Northern Kentucky (1-3) trailed Xavier (4-0) at the half, 44-35, after NKU was aggressive from the perimeter, shooting 7-of-15 from three-point range, with its seven threes coming from six different players.
Trailing 19-12 at the 14:10 mark, a trio of Norse connected from long range as NKU held the Musketeers to a single field goal for over three minutes. The treys from Brennan Gillis, Todd Johnson and Cole Murray brought NKU within one of Xavier at 22-21 with 11:21 to play in the first half.
After a Drew McDonald kept it a one-point game at the 10:05 mark, the Musketeers responded with 10-straight points, expanding their lead to 34-23 with 6:03 on the clock. The run included five points from the free throw line to help the Musketeers hold a nine-point advantage at the intermission.
Upon returning to the court, NKU struggled to connect from the floor with Xavier taking a 59-43 lead through the first portion of the second half.
White helped close the gap with six uninterrupted points beginning with a triple at the 3:29 mark. The senior then hit four free throws to cut the Musketeer lead to 74-65 with 2:12 to play.
However, the Norse’s late push would fall short as Xavier totaled four points from the charity stripe and held NKU without a field goal throughout the remainder of the game.
The Norse return to action in one week when they travel to Greensboro, North Carolina to take on North Carolina A&T Monday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
NORSE NOTES:
· White’s previous career-high of 24 points came against Morehead State on Dec. 19, 2014.
· Holland is averaging double-digits in scoring to start the season. The sophomore guard also averages a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.
· Six different Norse connected on three-pointers in the game, converting 9-of-22 attempts (40.9 percent).
NKU’s Glick named Horizon League Freshman of Week
Northern Kentucky University forward Molly Glick was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week for women’s basketball, the League office announced Monday.
Glick, a freshman from Fostoria, Ohio, averaged 9.5 points and four rebounds per game last week as the Norse dropped a close road game at Cincinnati, 71-68, before winning an 83-78 shootout against Marquette at home.
“Molly has started her freshman year at a very high level and we believe that she will continue to grow and progress throughout her career,” said NKU head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. “She is an extremely hard working player and a very coachable kid. Her teammates have done a tremendous job of making her feel right at home and certainly that is assisting her in her transition to college basketball.”
Glick opened the week with her second-straight double-digit scoring output, pouring in 11 points against Cincinnati. She followed up by scoring eight points in the Marquette win. Of Glick’s eight rebounds, six were on the offensive glass, as the freshman ranks 10th among Horizon League players in offensive rebounding.
Glick has been in the starting lineup in each of her first four games at NKU, averaging 26 minutes per game while scoring 9.5 points and grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game.
The award is the first conference honor for an NKU women’s basketball player since joining the Horizon League, and the first Freshman of the Week award since Kelley Wiegman was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 17, 2014.
From NKU Athletics