BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program suffered a non-conference setback in sunny Florida as the Norse fell to a red-hot Florida Atlantic squad, 67-52 on Wednesday night at Baldwin Arena. The Owls were able to pick up their 10th straight victory while the Norse dropped their first contest in three games.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 52, Florida Atlantic – 67
LOCATION: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena – Boca Raton, Florida
RECORDS: NKU 7-6 (2-0 HL), FAU 11-1 (1-0 C-USA)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Marques Warrick paced the Norse in scoring again as he dropped 18 points along with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. It is the 11th game so far this season that the standout guard has finished with double-digit points.
- Chris Brandon scored nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 evening from the field to go with seven boards and a steal.
- Trey Robinson chipped in eight points, four rebounds and two steals while Sam Vinson finished with seven points, four boards, three assists and three steals. It is the sixth straight game Vinson has finished with two or more swipes. Coming into the contest, Vinson was ranked fourth in the nation with 2.89 steals per game and 35th in steals with 35.
- NKU was most effective near the basket as the Norse finished with 24 points in the paint and 10 second chance points.
- The Owls tied a season-low with 67 points scored in the contest. The only other team on FAU's slate to hold them to the same point total this year was the SEC's Ole Miss. Coming into the night, Florida Atlantic was ranked 27th in the country with an average of 82.2 points scored per game.
- NKU also held FAU to season-lows in field goals made (23) and field goal attempted (51). The Owl's 36 rebounds were also the second lowest grabbed by the team in a contest this season.
- It was the first meeting in school history between Northern Kentucky and Florida Atlantic.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Norse came out tough and jumped out to a quick 11-8 lead with 14:09 left in the opening half.
- NKU extended its slight lead to 18-14 with 10:46 remaining in the first.
- Florida Atlantic punched back and ended the first half on an 18-7 run to take a 32-25 lead into the locker room.
- The Owls started off the second half on a 19-11 advantage to take a 51-36 lead with 9:35 left in the game.
- The Norse weren't done as they answered back with a 12-3 run of their own to make it a six-point game, 54-48 with 6:36 left to go.
- NKU was able to get as close as six again, 56-50 with 4:51 left, but ran out of steam as FAU finished with an 11-2 edge to close out the 67-52 victory.
 
NEXT UP
The Norse will take a short break for the holidays before returning to Truist Arena to host rival Wright State for 859 Night sponsored by Mike's Carwash, on Thursday, Dec. 29. Tip is set for 7 PM ET and the first 500 fans will receive a NKU court rally towel. Tickets for the conference clash can be purchased here. The game is also available nationwide on ESPN+ and ESPN 1530.
 

FOLLOW NKU NORSE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I college basketball team through @NKUNorseMBB on Twitter, @nkunorsembb on Instagram, nkunorsembb on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.