Courtesy of NKUNorse.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Northern Kentucky men’s basketball swept the Horizon League weekly awards on Monday as sophomore Drew McDonald was named the Player of the Week while Mason Faulkner earned Freshman of the Week honors following a pair of victories over Youngstown State and Cleveland State last week.
McDonald dropped 52 points in the last two contests highlighted by a career-high 37-point performance with 10 rebounds against Cleveland State on Saturday. McDonald scored 30 points in the first half alone against the Vikings and posted his third-straight double-double to lead NKU to its fifth-straight win at home. He connected on 11-of-15 attempts from the field including a 5-for-6 performance from long range and 10-for-11 showing at the line.
His 37 points were an NKU Division-I era record and the most since the 2009 season. His career-high mark in scoring came just after the Cold Spring, Kentucky, native pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds on Thursday against Youngstown State. Fifteen of his 52 points on the week came against the Penguins.
McDonald increased his team-leading points per game average to 16.7 as he posted his team-best seventh game this season with 20 points or more and second with 30 points or more. He is now averaging 19.3 points per League contest.
Faulkner earned Freshman of the Week recognition after a career outing against Youngstown State. The Glasgow, Kentucky, native posted a career-high 24 points in an 83-70 win over the Penguins. The game was his third-straight in which he established a new career-high in scoring. He followed up the performance with 16 points against CSU on Saturday.
The freshman posted 40 combined points against YSU and CSU and also dished out a career-high tying four assists in both contests. Faulkner is now averaging 14.8 points per League contest and 3.0 assists per HL game.
McDonald receives his second Player of the Week nod of the season and his career as it marks the third Player of the Week honor for a Norse player this season. Lavone Holland II was recognized on Dec. 12 after McDonald received the honor on Dec. 5. Faulkner is being recognized for the first time in his career as NKU has collected a trio of Freshman of the Week nods – two belonging to Carson Williams (Dec. 19 and Nov. 14).
The duo helped NKU improve to 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in conference play.
The Norse head to the Badger state for a pair of Horizon League games this week, beginning with a Tuesday tilt at Green Bay. Tip-off against the Phoenix is set for 8 p.m. ET. NKU then turns around to take on Milwaukee on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
Leave a Reply