HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky suffered just its third home loss of the season in a 73-43 defeat to UIC on Sunday afternoon. NKU is now 19-8 overall and 11-4 in league play, while UIC moves to 13-5 overall and 8-7 the Horizon.
STATS LEADERS

• Jalen Tate lead NKU with eight points and five rebounds.
• Trevon Faulkner had seven points in the contest, shooting at a 3-for-8 (38 percent) mark.
• Tre Cobbs also contributed seven points to the effort on 2-for-4 (50 percent) shooting.
• Dantez Walton had a team-best seven rebounds.

TURNING POINT

• With a 10-7 advantage, UIC scored eight-straight points that ignited a 33-6 run to give it a 30-point first-half lead.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• Buckets from Tate and Faulkner put the Norse up 4-3 through the opening few minutes, but UIC scored 15 of the next 18 points to give the Flames an 18-7 advantage.
• NKU scored the next four points before UIC responded with 33-6 run to put the Norse in a 30-point hole.
• Northern Kentucky scored the final five points of the half to head into intermission trailing, 43-18.
• The Norse made just 6-of-27 (22 percent) from the floor, including a 1-for-14 clip from three, while the Flames made 14-of-29 (48 percent) from the field and 6-of-11 of their threes.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Faulkner hit a three to open play in the second half, but UIC scored the next 19 to push the lead back above 30 with 15:55 remaining.
• Faulkner scored again to break up the run with 12:05 left. Tate then went to the line on the next two Norse possessions and hit all four of his free throws, bringing the score to 59-27.
• Three more UIC shots went in before Karl Harris went to the line for two, sinking both. On the next trip back, Cobbs hauled in a layup and Harris followed with a jumper.
• The Norse scored the last 10 points of the game. Harris made another jump shot with 3:40 left, while Cobbs found Paul Djoko for a three-pointer. Cobbs finished things out with a pair of free throws and a triple.

GAME NOTES

• NKU shot 22 percent (13-of-59) for the game and 13 percent (4-of-32) from three. UIC made 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor and 55 percent (11-of-20) of its threes.
• The Norse forced 17 turnovers from the Flames and turned them into a 18-14 advantage in points off of turnovers.

UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky hits the highway for the last road trip of the regular-season with a two-game swing to Northeast Ohio. First up for the Norse is a battle of Scandinavian mascots on Thursday, Feb. 20, with a matchup against the Cleveland State Vikings. Tip-off at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is set for 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on ESPN1530.