Mayo's late jumper puts E. Kentucky past N. Kentucky 76-74
RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — Nick Mayo sank a jumper with two seconds to play to give Eastern Kentucky a 76-74 win over Northern Kentucky after a tight battle on Saturday night.
The Colonels (6-4) trailed 74-72 with 46 seconds left when Mayo was fouled, then drained both free throws to tie it 74-all. Following a Northern Kentucky timeout, Drew McDonald missed a 3-pointer for the Norse (8-3) and Jomaru Brown snagged the defensive rebound. Seconds later, Mayo made the go-ahead jumper for the win.
Mayo led the Colonels with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Brown added 16 points and four assists.
Brown sank back-to-back 3s early in the second half to put the Colonels on top 45-42 after the teams were tied 29-all at halftime. They held a slim margin until Tyler Sharpe drained his own pair of 3s to give the Norse a 58-57 lead with 8:00 left. The back-and-forth continued into the final seconds.
McDonald scored 23 points with six rebounds and five assists for the Norse. Sharpe added 18 points.