NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State cut a 17-point deficit down to two with a big run to start the second half, but Northern Kentucky held firm to earn a 72-61 win over the Spartan men's basketball team in a non-conference game on Saturday night at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
NKU led for most of the first half and went up by 17 early in the second half. The Spartans then began a 16-3 run, part of a larger 21-6 spurt that got NSU to within two. They later trailed by just three, including with less than four minutes remaining, but NKU iced the game away to send NSU to its sixth straight loss.
 
The Spartans fell to 2-7 despite a 21-point effort from senior Jonathan Wade. He shot 9-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, with a game-high nine rebounds and two assists. He was joined in double figures by junior Jordan Butler, who tallied 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and three blocks.
 
NKU (5-3), on the other hand, was led primarily by a trio of players. Lavone Holland II tallied 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting with five assists, while Drew McDonald posted 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field with seven rebounds. In addition, Cole Murray shot 5-of-12 from 3-point range for a 15-point night.
 
Murray helped the Norse finish 12-of-26 from 3-point range. NSU, on the other hand, hit just 4-of-18 from long distance as well as 7-of-15 from the free throw line.
 
Three minutes into the game, and Northern Kentucky already led 9-6 before neither team scored for the next three minutes. Murray hit a 3-pointer at that point to give the Norse an early 12-6 advantage in the game. The Spartans battled back to tie it up twice, the latter at 16-all on a 3-pointer by Wade with 11 minutes left in the half.
 
However, an extended 15-2 run that lasted almost five minutes put Northern Kentucky ahead by a 31-18 margin with five minutes to go. Two free throws by sophomore Alex Long and a trey from junior Alex Brown ended that NKU run, but the Norse scored the last eight points of the period for a 39-23 edge at the break.
 
Norfolk State shot just 9-of-34 from the field in the first half (26.5 percent) but better than 50 percent in the second.
 
Long totaled nine points, seven rebounds and a career-high six blocks in the setback. NSU held a 10-4 edge in blocks for the night.
 
The Spartans came out of the locker room on fire, using that 16-3 run over the first seven minutes of the half to get to within four at 43-39. Wade closed out the run with a drive to the bucket, the first of 12 straight points he scored for the Spartans that kept NSU within four. The Spartans even got the deficit down to two at the 11:15 mark on one of Wade's three treys in the contest.
 
Long later completed a three-point play at the 6:49 mark to make it 55-52. The Spartans were still down three with 3:53 left on a couple of free throws by junior Zaynah Robinson. The Norse, who never trailed in the second half, scored eight of the next 10 points in the game for a 66-57 lead. Butler's layup 15 seconds later was as close as the Spartans got the rest of the way.
 
They finished the game 25-of-64 (39.1 percent) from the field, compared to a 23-of-55 night from NKU (41.8 percent). NSU also held a 32-22 edge in points in the paint.
 
NSU will next play at Niagara on Saturday at 3 p.m.