Northern Kentucky pulls away from USC-Upstate 84-65

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) Todd Johnson sank a career-high eight 3-pointers Saturday to lead Northern Kentucky to an 84-65 win over South Carolina-Upstate that secured home court advantage as a No. 4 seed in the Atlantic Sun quarterfinal.

Johnson missed just two shots from the field and finished with 24 points, also a career best, while pulling down six rebounds.

Tyler White contributed 19 points, Tayler Persons added 14 and Jalen Billups had 11 for Northern Kentucky (13-16, 7-7), which shot 55.6 percent from the field on 54 attempts, including 11 of 20 from long range.

Leading by three at the break, the Norse broke it open in the second half, hitting 16 of 25 shots from the floor (64 percent) and 4 of 8 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes.

Ty Greene led USC-Upstate (21-10, 8-6) with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Fred Miller added 13 points.