Jalen Billups tallied 20 points, but the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team fell to North Carolina A&T, 74-63, on Monday night.
Billups, one of the nation’s top shooters, was 8-of-13 from the floor and added seven rebounds.
Deontae Cole gave NKU (1-4) a 39-37 advantage headed into intermission with a tip-in as time expired. Billups tallied 13 points in the frame for the Norse and Sam Hunt paced the Aggies with 22.
The second half started slowly, but after N.C. A&T (1-7) built an eight-point margin at 56-48 Billups came through with back-to-back slams. The first came on Tyler White’s assist on a fast break. Billups’ second flush came at the expense of the Aggies’ leading scorer Bruce Beckford, who was whistled for a foul.
NKU later whittled its deficit to three, 61-58, following a pair of White free throws and another Billups bucket.
A 9-0 run by N.C. A&T pushed the Aggies in front by 11, but NKU responded with a triple and layup from Lavone Holland to close the gap to six, 69-63. However, the Aggies converted five free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
Holland gave NKU its second double-figure scorer with 13 points. He chipped in seven boards as well.
Northern Kentucky closes its three-game road trip on Saturday at Eastern Illinois. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Norse notes
* After shooting 61.5 percent last night, Billups has now made 50 percent or more of his attempts in 41 of the last 43 games.
* With 13 points against the Aggies, Holland has reached double-figures in all five games for NKU this season. He’s now averaging 11.2 points per game.
* Northern Kentucky outscored N.C. A&T 34-24 in the paint.
From NKU Athletics