Brought to you by Rebel Mettle Brewery, proud sponsor of Norse Men's Basketball. 

 
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Northern Kentucky University's men's basketball team played an inspired second half but was doomed by a slow start in a 79-61 loss to Indiana, Wednesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.  
 
STATS LEADERS 

• Trevon Faulkner scored all 22 of his points in the second half despite playing the last 16:34 with four fouls. He led all scorers by converting seven of his 14 field goal attempts throughout – including four 3-pointers – and all four of his free-throws. 
• David Bohm scored eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.  
• Marques Warrick chipped in seven points, two assists and two steals.  
• Sam Vinson led the team in assists with four. The freshman also scored six points. 

TURNING POINT 

• Indiana mounted a 20-3 run over 8:47 in the first half, including 16 straight points, as the Norse went scoreless for 10:03 and missed 14 straight field goal attempts. The Hoosiers surged ahead 24-5 while NKU muddled through 8.7% shooting (2-for-23) and a 1-for-14 mark (7.1%) from 3-point range.  

FIRST HALF SUMMARY 

• The Norse shot 20% (2-for-10) before the first media timeout, missing five of their first six 3-point attempts, but pulled within three after a David Bohm 3-pointer.  
• Starter Trevon Faulkner picked up two fouls in the first 3:22 and his third with 13:09 left in the first half. He logged only 3:54 before the break and went 0-for-2 from the field. 
• Sam Vinson ended NKU's long drought with a 3-pointer at the 5:22 mark and scored six of NKU's 14 first-half points. Vinson and Bohm tied the rebounding lead with five each. 
• The Norse had four assists on five field goals. 
• NKU went 5-for-32 (15.6%) against the nation's No. 2 goal defense, as Indiana has held its foes to 35% shooting this season. The Norse converted just 16.7% (3-for-18) from 3-point range.  
• NKU scored a season-low 14 first-half points and trailed by as many as 24 points by intermission. The Norse were outscored in the paint 22-2. 

SECOND HALF SUMMARY 

• NKU emerged inspired after the break and outscored the Hoosiers 47-41 in the second half. Stronger cuts and better shooting propelled the Norse in a bid to narrow the first half deficit. 
• The Norse outscored the Hoosiers 9-8 in the early going. Trevon Faulkner's first basket of the night, a 3-pointer, helped paved the way.  
• NKU converted 61.5% (8-for-13) of its field goal attempts in the first nine minutes of the second frame.  
• Faulkner scored six straight points, including four free throws, to bring NKU within 21 points with 7:01 to play.  
• NKU forced the Hoosiers into five turnovers over a 4:06 stretch. 
• The Norse shot 59.3% (16-for-27) in the second half, including 46.7% (7-for-15) from 3-point range. 

GAME NOTES 

• The game was the first in history between NKU (4-7) and Indiana (10-2). 
• NKU outscored the Hoosiers 12-6 in second-chance points and had 10 steals to the Hoosiers' six. The Norse entered the game ranked eighth in the nation in steals per game with 10.6.  
• The Norse averaged 13.5 offensive rebounds entering the game, good for 26^th nationally, but finished with nine. Indiana controlled the paint, outscoring NKU 48-12 there, and won the rebounding battle 38-24. 

UP NEXT 
NKU returns to BB&T Arena for a five-game homestand in Horizon League play. The first outing is against Green Bay, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.