Northern Kentucky holds off Northern Illinois 65-62

Dec 21, 2018, 02:34 am

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -- Drew McDonald had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season and Northern Kentucky beat Northern Illinois 65-62 on Thursday night.

Jalen Tate scored five of his 14 points in the final two minutes, including a layup with 16 seconds left that made it 64-61 for the Norse (10-3). Eugene German split a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left for the Huskies (6-5) and Tyler Sharpe made 1 of 2 foul shots for Northern Kentucky to cap the scoring with 4 seconds left.

Dante Thorpe had a pair of 3-pointers that kept Northern Illinois alive in the final two minutes. The first cut the deficit to 60-56 with 1:46 to go and the second brought the Huskies within 62-61 with 41 seconds to go.

Sharpe and Tate added 14 points each for the Norse, who shot just 31 percent from the field but got to the foul line for 36 attempts, making 21.

German scored 18 and Thorpe 17 for the Huskies, who made just 4 of 9 from the foul line.