LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team fell to Louisville on Tuesday evening in the First Round of the NIT by a final score of 66-58. The Norse conclude the season at 22-10, while the Cardinals move to 21-13.
 
 
STATS LEADERS

• Drew McDonald notched his 18^th double-double of the season and 16^th in the past 22 games. He finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
• Lavone Holland II added 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.
• Jordan Garnett had seven points and six rebounds.
• Dantez Walton finished with six points and nine rebounds.

TURNING POINT

• Louisville went on a 13-0 run, beginning with 47-seconds left in the third quarter to take a 54-44 lead with 6:28 to play in the game. Northern Kentucky was able to cut the deficit to five with 2:24 remaining in the game, but UofL scored the next five points to put the game out of reach.

 
FIRST QUARTER SUMMARY

• The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair. Louisville built a five-point lead early in the game, but the Norse battled back.  
• NKU took its first lead at 12-11 with 2:10 to play in the quarter on Carson Williams' layup.
• The Norse went 6-of-17 (35.3%) on field goals in the quarter and 1-of-8 (12.5%) from behind the arc.
• Louisville was also 6-of-17 (35.3%) on field goals in the stanza, and 2-of-5 (40.0%) from the three-point line.

 
SECOND QUARTER SUMMARY

• The Norse scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a 20-16 lead with 8:13 to play in the half. McDonald had a three-pointer and Jalen Tate converted a layup to put the Norse ahead.
• Holland scored the first four points in a 6-0 Norse run to close the half and take a 30-23 lead into halftime. 
• The Norse went 4-of-15 (26.7%) from the floor and 2-of-7 (28.6%) from beyond the arc.
• Louisville shot just 2-of-15 (13.3%) on field goals and went 0-of-4 on three-point attempts.
• NKU had a 14-8 rebound advantage in the quarter and outrebounded Louisville 25-23 in the half.
• McDonald had 10 points in the half and Holland added nine.

 
THIRD QUARTER SUMMARY

• Louisville chipped away at NKU's lead and tied the game at 36-36 with 3:39 to play in the quarter.
• The Cardinals took a 45-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
• NKU shot 6-of-14 (42.9%) in the quarter and 0-of-2 from the three-point line.
• Louisville went 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the floor and 2-for-4 (50.0%) from beyond the arc.

 
FOURTH QUARTER SUMMARY

• The Cardinals scored the first nine points of the quarter to take a 54-44 lead with 6:28 to play in the game.
• Holland hit three-pointers on consecutive offensive possessions for NKU, and McDonald added a layup to get the Norse to within six points at 57-51 with 4:15 to play.
• Louisville got its lead back to 10 points later in the quarter before NKU cut the lead to five, but the Cardinals went on to win by a final score of 66-58.
• NKU shot 6-of-18 (33.3%) from the floor and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from the three-point line.
• The Cardinals went 5-of-10 (50.0%) on field goals and 2-of-5 (40.0%) on attempts from behind the arc.

 
GAME NOTES

• The NIT is experimenting with different rules, which includes four 10-minute quarters, a three-point arc that matches international play, a wider lane on free throw attempts and the shot clock resetting to 20 seconds on an offensive rebound.
• NKU finished with a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint. The Norse also outrebounded Louisville 42-38.
• The Norse shot 22-of-64 (34.4%) in the game and 5-of-28 (17.9%) from the three-point line.
• Louisville went 22-of-55 (40.0 %) from the floor and 6-of-18 (33.3%) on attempts from beyond the arc.
• NKU also had a 9-4 advantage in second chance points.
• This is the second-straight season that NKU has won 20 or more games.
• The Norse also qualified for the NCAA Tournament and NIT in back-to-back seasons.
• NKU went 15-3 in Horizon League play this year to claim the 2018 Horizon League Regular Season Championship.