DETROIT, Michigan — The NKU men’s basketball team overcame a first-half deficit in its Horizon League opener Thursday night by burying long-range shots.

The Norse made 9 of 16 from three-point range in the second half and defeated Detroit Mercy 81-70.

NKU (10-4) outscored Detroit Mercy 47-31 in the second half after trailing 39-34 at the intermission.

It was a barrage of threes that gave the Norse the lead for good.

Cole Murray knocked down a three to give NKU a 46-45 lead with 14:24 left. Just 22 seconds later, Murray made another three.

After the Titans (2-11) answered with a three, Murray made another to give the Norse a 52-48 lead with 13:12 left.

It was the start of seven straight made field goals for the Norse. Six of those were three-pointers. Murray would make two more, Brennan Gillis made one and Lavone Holland II made a layup for the only two-pointer in the sequence. NKU led 63-54 with 11:03 left.

Detroit Mercy never threatened the rest of the way.

Murray and Holland led the Norse with 21 points each. Murray made seven threes, while Holland knocked down 6 of 8 from the line to help put the game away.

Drew McDonald added 12 points and six rebounds, while Carson Williams had 10 points and seven rebounds. NKU outrebounded Detroit 44-31. The Norse had 16 points off the bench, while the Titans had none.

Jaleel Hogan led Detroit with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots. Chris Jenkins added 20 points.

NKU returns to action 3 p.m. Saturday in a big early-season Horizon League matchup against Oakland.

Summary

Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016

at Calihan Hall, Detroit, Michigan

Northern Kentucky 81, Detroit Mercy 70

N — 34 – 47 — 81
D — 39 – 31 — 70

(81) NORTHERN KENTUCKY (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Murray 7-7-0-21, Holland II 7-1-6-21, McDonald 4-3-1-12, Williams 4-0-2-10, Garrett 0-0-1-1, Faulkner 2-1-4-9, Garnett 1-1-1-4, Gillis 1-1-0-3. TOTALS 26-14-15-81.

(70) DETROIT MERCY (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Hogan 10-0-2-22, Jenkins 8-2-2-20, McFolley 4-2-5-15, Grant 3-2-0-8, Allen 2-0-1-5. TOTALS 27-6-10-70.

FIELD GOALS: N 26/61 (Murray 7/13, Holland 7/14, McDonald 4/9, Williams 4/7); D 27/60 (Hogan 10/15, Jenkins 8/13)

3 POINT FIELD GOALS: N 14/30 (Murray 7/12, McDonald 3/6); D 6/17

FREE THROWS: N 15/23 (Holland 6/8, Faulkner 4/4); D 10/13 (McFolley 5/6)

REBOUNDS: N 44 (Garrett 8, Williams 7, McDonald 6, Faulkner 5); D 31 (Hogan 8, Jenkins 6, Grant 5)

ASSISTS: N 12 (Holland 3, Gillis 3); D 11 (McFolley 3, Williams 3)

STEALS: N 5; D 6

BLOCKED SHOTS: N 5 (Murray 2, McDonald 2, Gillis 1); D 10 (Hogan 8)

TURNOVERS: N 10; D 11