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DAYTON, Ohio – Northern Kentucky led from start to finish in a 75-71 victory over Wright State at the Nutter Center and thwarted the Raiders' late comeback bid.

The win, NKU's third straight and ninth in its last 10 outings, improved the team to 15-10 (11-5 Horizon League) and ensured a season sweep of the Raiders (15-12, 12-6).

STATS LEADERS

• Sam Vinson scored 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting with a team-high-tying six rebounds, an assist and a steal.
• Marques Warrick went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line en route to 16 points. He added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Bryson Langdon scored 12 points with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
• Adrian Nelson tied the rebounding lead with six boards and added 10 points.

TURNING POINT

• NKU led from start to finish and broke open the game on a 17-4 first half run.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• NKU missed seven of its first nine shots and Wright State missed eight of its first nine shots. NKU battled turnovers in a 4:29 drought between Sam Vinson's game-opening 3-pointer and an Adrian Nelson layup.
• NKU's fortunes changed soon after as it continued putting on a defensive clinic and feasting on turnovers. The Norse mounted an 8-0 run for a 13-5 lead with 11:28 left in the half. Marques Warrick's 3-point play, Jake Evans' 3-pointer and Bryson Langdon's layup provided separation from a Raiders team shooting 10% with four turnovers.
• The Norse's defense led to a scoring onslaught as Wright State remained cold. The Norse surged ahead by 15 points via a 17-4 run and scored 10 of their first 22 points off Wright State's seven turnovers.
• Chris Brandon had a dunk and a jumper within an 12-2 spurt that pushed NKU ahead 34-16 - its biggest lead of the day.
• NKU led at the half, 34-22, after scoring 12 points off Wright State's eight miscues. The Norse held Wright State season leader Tanner Holden (20.1 ppg) scoreless in the first 20 minutes.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Wright State scored the last six points of the first half and the first six points of the second half, trimming NKU's 18-point lead to six.
• Darrin Horn called a key Norse timeout that paid dividends. Marques Warrick converted a 3-point play and Sam Vinson delivered a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer for an 8-0 run out of the timeout. NKU led, 42-28.
• The Raiders held NKU scoreless for more than three minutes while scoring seven straight points. Grant Basile's layup brought Wright State within nine with 12 minutes to play.
• Wright State scored 49 second-half points in a prolonged bid to overtake the lead. Trey Calvin's 3-pointer with 53 seconds left brought the Raiders within seven, Keaton Morris' triple at the 41 second mark made it a five-point game and pair of Norris free throws with 22 seconds to go diminished the gap to four (72-68).
• Although Grant Basile's 3-pointer made it a two-point game down the stretch, Marques Warrick buried two free throws with 10.6 seconds remaining and the Norse prevailed.

GAME NOTES

• NKU shot 58% from the field (29-for-50) and held Wright State to 37.3% shooting (22-for-59). Both teams scored 19 points off turnovers but the Raiders held the edge in rebounding (34-30) and second-chance points (16-2).
• The Norse led by as many as 18 points with 55 seconds left in the first half.
• Trevon Faulkner was ejected for a flagrant foul with 3:06 remaining.  
• NKU dealt Wright State a second straight loss and beat the Raiders for the second time this season. The Norse won their first meeting 73-63, Jan. 25 at BB&T Arena.

UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky plays at Detroit Mercy Feb. 18 in the fourth leg of a five-game road swing. The Norse and Titans tip off at 7 p.m.