Late momentum from the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team was not enough to overcome Horizon League-leading Valparaiso on the road Thursday night as the Norse fell, 64-52, at the Athletics Recreation Center.
NKU (9-15, 5-8 Horizon League) outscored the Crusaders 12-3 over the last six-and-a-half minutes. The Norse defense held the Crusaders (21-4, 11-1 Horizon League) to one of their last nine attempts as Valpo scored one basket over the final seven minutes of play.
Todd Johnson turned in a season-high nine points and pulled down four rebounds.
Jordan Garnett, Tyler White, Dean Danos and Drew McDonald posted seven points apiece while McDonald registered a team-high eight rebounds.
Keith Carter paced the Valparaiso offense with 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three.
An early Valpo run helped the Crusaders out to a 14-8 advantage as the Norse struggled to find the net in the early going.
The Norse cut the Valpo advantage to seven points after a McDonald triple at the 9:04 mark. NKU was hot from long range as threes from Cole Murray and Johnson made it a six-point game with five minutes left in the period.
However, NKU struggled to overcome a hot-shooting Valpo squad throughout the remainder of the half. The Crusaders held a 38-20 advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.
Upon returning to the court, the Norse forced four Valpo turnovers over a three-minute span and scored six-straight points to make it 54-38 at the midway point of the second half as the Norse momentum picked up.
Northern Kentucky returns to action on Saturday at UIC. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
NORSE NOTES
· Valpo’s 26 points in the second half was its lowest scoring half since the Crusaders fell to Wright State on Jan. 22 and scored 25 points in the first half.
· Johnson has 15 points across the last two games and has posted a season-high in back-to-back contests after scoring six points against Milwaukee.
· Five-of-11 shooting from three in the opening frame helped NKU come just shy of posting 10 or more total triples for the fifth time against a League opponent.
From NKU Athletics