N. Kentucky beats Youngstown St. 84-74 to advance (Mar 06, 2017)
DETROIT (AP) Drew McDonald scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, LaVone Holland scored 20 and made all three of his 3-pointers and Northern Kentucky beat Youngstown State 84-74 Monday to advance to the Horizon League Championship game.
Leading 24-19, Northern Kentucky (23-10) used an 18-8 run in the final eight minutes of the first half and maintained control the rest of the way. Francisco Santiago's layup brought the Penguins to within 42-36 with 17:09 to play but couldn't draw closer. Youngstown State never led.
The Norse shot 31 for 62 including 13 for 27 from 3-point distance. Northern Kentucky now has won five straight and nine of its last 10. Mason Faulkner added 10 points.
Cameron Morse led Youngstown State (13-20) with 28 points, Santiago had 15 and Matt Donlan 14. Morse became the first Penguins player in its Division I-era to score more than 700 points in a season (711).
