N. Kentucky rallies from halftime deficit, beats Detroit

Dec 29, 2016, 09:55 pm

DETROIT -- Cole Murray and Lavone Holland scored 21 points apiece and Northern Kentucky rallied from a halftime deficit to earn an 81-70 win over Detroit in the Horizon League opener on Thursday night.

Northern Kentucky bounced back from a 31-point loss to No. 11 West Virginia, which snapped its six-game win streak.

Murray hit 7 of 12 from distance to account for all of his points. Holland also had seven baskets while hitting 6 of 8 free throws. Drew McDonald added 12 points for the Norse (10-4, 1-0).

Detroit outscored Northern Kentucky by 14 over the final 8:23 and led 39-34 at the break. But the Norse quickly rallied, regaining a 46-45 lead on a Murray 3 with 14:56 left. Northern Kentucky pushed its lead to as many as 18 and never trailed again.

Jaleel Hogan scored 22 and Chris Jenkins added 20 to lead Detroit (2-11, 0-1).