YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team waged a back-and-forth battle with Youngstown State throughout the entire game on Saturday, but ultimately fell 81-77 at the Beeghly Center.

With the loss, NKU's four-game win streak comes to a halt. The Norse dip to 18-10 overall and 10-5 in the Horizon League. The Penguins improve to 11-18 (5-11 Horizon).

STAT LEADERS

• Mason Faulkner paced the Norse offense with 16 total points, split evenly between the first and second half.
• Drew McDonald followed with 14 total points and was one rebound shy of his 11th double-double of the season with nine boards, eight of which came on the defensive end.
• Carson Williams notched the fourth double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman also added a team-high four assists.
• Jordan Garnett put together a complete game, coming within one point of his career-high. Garnett posted nine points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.

TURNING POINT

• Northern Kentucky led by six with 9:47 left in the game and maintained their advantage until the final three minutes when YSU went on a 10-1 run to initiate the ninth lead change of the game. Youngstown State led 79-75 with two minutes left.
• The Norse would come back within two of the Penguins after a pair of Williams free throws, but NKU struggled from the field and did not connect on a field goal in the final minutes.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• Neither team led by more than four points throughout the first period.
• NKU led for the first eight and a half minutes of the game, holding a four-point edge at 14-10 after a Faulkner jumper.
• The Penguins claimed their first lead with a triple at the 11:26 mark as six more lead changes ensued throughout the remainder of the half.
• McDonald tied it up at 22-22 with exactly eight minutes left but the Penguins reassumed the lead until the final minute of the period.
• Dantez Walton's triple at the 1:03 mark put NKU back ahead, but a layup with eight seconds left in the period gave the Penguins a 41-40 advantage at halftime.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Six minutes into the second period, NKU built up a game-high eight point lead with the help of on 8-2 run. The Norse led 56-48 with 14:29 to play.
• NKU held Youngstown State scoreless from the field and forced a pair of turnovers in a six-minute span to maintain the lead.
• A 9-2 Penguin run then erased NKU's eight-point advantage. YSU tied it up at 59-59 at the midway point of the second half.
• NKU countered with a 6-0 run to lead 65-59 with 9:47 to go. The Norse clung to the lead until the final three minutes when YSU went on its 10-1 run that ultimately won the game.

GAME NOTES

• NKU out-rebounded Youngstown State 32-28 to mark just the fifth game this season NKU has lost when winning the battle of the boards.
• Northern Kentucky's edge in rebounds helped it post 16 second-chance points compared to YSU's four.
• The Norse posted their fourth game in a row with 12 or fewer turnovers.

UP NEXT

• Northern Kentucky closes the regular season with a three-game homestand. The Norse host Wright State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the third game in six days.