Senior Jalen Billups posted a game-high 31 points on Saturday afternoon as the Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team defeated Ohio Northern, 81-76, in exhibition action at BB&T Arena.
Billups connected on 12-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to lead NKU to 50.0 percent (29-of-58) shooting from the floor. The senior came two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight, while senior Tyler White added 10 points for the Norse.
Ohio Northern’s Devon Allen paced the Polar Bear offense with 28 points after scoring seven triples.
The Norse opened the game on an 11-0 run and held ONU without a bucket until the 15:27 mark, forcing four Polar Bear turnovers in that span.
NKU owned a game-high 15 point lead after a jumper by Jake Giesler capped off seven uninterrupted points for the Norse at the 11:28 mark for a 18-3 lead.
Northern Kentucky held on to take a 37-24 advantage into the locker room at the intermission.
The teams returned to the court and traded buckets as the Polar Bears began to chip away at the deficit.
Ohio Northern made it a one-point game with 3:51 to play before NKU held ONU without a field goal for the remainder of the game.
A pair of layups and free throw from Billups combined with a Todd Johnson triple gave the Norse a 77-70 advantage with 2:31 left on the clock to ice the game.
The Norse open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 with a 7 p.m. tip-off at West Virginia. NKU then returns to BB&T Arena for the home opener against Tiffin on Tuesday, Nov. 17. For more information on Northern Kentucky men’s basketball, visit NKUNorse.com or follow the team on twitter at @NKUNorseMBB.
NORSE NOTES:
- The exhibition victory was first-year head coach John Brannen’s debut.
- Junior Cole Murray issued a strong performance on both ends of the court with five defensive rebounds and five total points in 12 minutes of action.
- NKU won the rebounding battle, 25-17.
