NKU Norse drop first-ever Horizon League contest

Courtesy of NKUNorse.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team dropped its first-ever Horizon League matchup at Green Bay on Saturday afternoon at the Resch Center by a score of 86-70. NKU dips to 4-8 (0-1 Horizon League), while GB improves to 8-5 (1-0 HL).

 

Jalen Billups paced Northern Kentucky in Saturday’s loss with 18 points, while achieving his 500th career rebound with a six-board performance.

 

Lavone Holland II followed with 17 points while Drew McDonald joined the pair in leading the Norse, recording his first career double-double. McDonald tabbed a team-high 13 rebounds including nine on the defensive glass to go with 12 total points.

 

NKU won the rebounding battle, 43-37, while the Green Bay offense was led by Charles Cooper with 19 points.

 

After trailing early 11-7, the Norse utilized an 11-3 run to overtake the deficit for a 22-14 lead. A strong defensive presence aided NKU to the first-half lead, as Green Bay was held to 2-of-9 nine shooting at the midway point of the opening half.

 

However, the Norse would be outscored 14-5 over the final seven minutes of the first period to give Green Bay a 43-33 advantage through 20 minutes of play.

 

Following the break, Green Bay scored seven-straight points to open the half.

 

Late in the period, NKU began to chip away at the deficit with a 9-1 run made up of six free throws within the final five minutes of action, but would be unable to close in on the Phoenix.

 

Northern Kentucky continues its road swing on Monday evening with a match-up at Milwaukee.  Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. EST.

 

NORSE NOTES:

• Billups enters the top-20 all time after eclipsing the 500-career rebound mark on Saturday. He now has 501 boards. The senior forward is now just 11 points away from 1,000 for career following today’s 18-point effort.
• McDonald’s double-double helps the sophomore to continue his scoring surge, as he entered the contest averaging 13.3 points across the last three games.
• Tyler White is just 12 points shy of becoming the 32nd player in NKU history to reach 900 career points. White netted six points in Saturday’s affair including a team-high four assists.