HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball team swept Purdue Fort Wayne with back-to-back victories over the Mastodons on Jan. 1-2. The Saturday night, 70-68, win allows NKU to improve to 5-4 on the season and 3-1 in Horizon League play, while PFW shifts to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in League competition.  
 
STATS LEADERS 

• Marques Warrick dropped back-to-back 22-point performances on Friday and Saturday night, matching his career-high 24 hours after establishing the new threshold. The freshman tallied the final points of the night for both teams with his game-winning basket as 2.4 seconds remained on the clock.  
• Trey Robinson notched a new career-high as well with 17 points of his own, besting his 14-point showing against Tennessee Tech on Dec. 3. His career-night extended to the rebounding column with seven on the evening. Robinson went 5-of-7 (71 percent) from the floor and 5-of-5 (100 percent) from the charity stripe. He dished out three assists, too.  
• Trevon Faulkner was only two rebounds shy of adding his first double-double to his career. The junior scored 11 points along with eight rebounds and two assists.   

 
TURNING POINT 

• Starting at the 7:26 mark in the second half, the Norse completed a 12-2 run that allowed the team to claim a lead, 64-60, that would never be surrendered. Nelson and Faulkner added the first two buckets for NKU and was followed by Robinson pouring in the next eight-consecutive points for the Norse.   

 
FIRST HALF SUMMARY 

• The first half was an even matchup with neither team leading by more than a single possession until the Mastodons eventually captured a four-point lead, 23-27, with 1:30 remaining in the half.  
• NKU was able to reclaim a share of the lead at 27 points within a 42 second span due to two Robinson free throws and a Warrick layup.   
• The Mastodons went into the locker room with a two-point advantage, 27-29, thanks to a late bucket with 0.3 remaining on the clock. 
• The half entailed nine lead changes, eight ties and similar stat lines between the Horizon League opponents. NKU went 10-of-28 (36 percent) from the field as PFW also knocked down 10 shots on 25 attempts (40 percent). NKU and PFW went 19-18 in the battle of the boards, respectively.   

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY 

• The opposition in BB&T Arena struck first coming out of the intermission, completing an 11-2 run through the first 3:06 of action. The Mastodons used the run to create a 29-40 spread.  
• The Warrick-Robinson freshman duo brought the Norse to life in the second half. Warrick enabled the Norse to climb back into range of the Mastodons by converting at an 86 percent clip on 6-of-7 attempts from the field. Robinson went on a tear of his own and scored eight-straight points for NKU during its 12-2 run beginning at the 7:26 mark.  
• The game was all square at 68 with 14.3 seconds left on the clock and the ball in Norse possession. Warrick drove towards the hoop and got the game-winning bucket to fall in traffic with just 2.4 seconds remaining in the game to close out the series.  

• The matchup was again even with the Norse shooting 28-of-61 (46 percent) from the field and PFW going 25-of-53 (47 percent). NKU tallied seven threes on the night with the Mastodons hitting five of its own, shooting at a 27 and 28 percent clip, respectively.   

 
GAME NOTES 

• The halftime deficit overcome by the Norse marks the second time the feat has been completed this season with the first coming in last night's matchup against the Mastodons. NKU was 3-8 when trailing at the half last season.
• The Norse completed a second-half double-digit comeback for the first time since Nov. 9, 2018. NKU trailed Northern Illinois in the 2018-2019 season-opener by double-figures with a score of 39-28 with 17:12 remaining in the game, but won the game in a double-overtime thriller with a final score of 88-85. Purdue Fort Wayne led today's matchup, 42-31 with 16:09 left.
• The Norse move to 2-0 when the game is decided by four points or less, throwing it back to its first win of the season against Ball State on Nov. 25 that ended in a 74-73 decision.  
• Warrick is the first Norse freshman with back-to-back 20-point games since at least the 2006-07 season (15 years), the furthest year back game-by-game records are readily available.
• Mimicking the victory on Friday against PFW, NKU trailed again for the majority of the game. The Norse held the lead for a mere 8:43 while the Mastodons held the advantage for 23:10 throughout the matchup.  

 
UP NEXT 
Northern Kentucky will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, for a back-to-back series against the Vikings of Cleveland State at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8-9. The game will be available on radio at ESPN1530.