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

 
Highland Heights, Ky. – With a 75-61 victory over Youngstown State in Saturday's regular-season finale at BB&T Arena, Northern Kentucky completed a regular-season sweep of the Penguins and claimed the No. 3 seed in the 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship.
 
The Norse have a first-round conference tournament bye by virtue of their Top Four seed and will host a quarterfinal at BB&T Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Norse's opponent will be the second-highest remaining seed after Tuesday's first-round games.

STATS LEADERS

• Marques Warrick scored 22 points with three rebounds, three assists and a steal
• Sam Vinson converted 4-of-5 threes and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds
• Trevon Faulkner contributed 12 points, three rebounds and a steal
• Bryson Langdon scored 10 points with six assists and only one turnover 
• Trey Robinson tied a career high with four steals
• Chris Brandon retrieved a team-high 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass

TURNING POINT

• Marques Warrick unlocked a 34-all tie via a 3-pointer with 2:43 left in the first half and Bryson Langdon added four points in a 7-0 run. NKU never trailed again.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• The first half was dominated by 3-point shooting, as NKU went 9-for-12 (75%) and Youngstown State went 6-for-12 (50%).
• Marques Warrick and Sam Vinson started things off with back-to-back 3-pointers and Adrian Nelson converted a lay-up for the early Norse edge. With another Warrick triple, the Norse jumped ahead 11-7 on 3-for-3 perimeter shooting.
• The Penguins made eight of their first 11 shots (72.7%) and regained the lead on via 10-2 run – but Hubie Pivorius and Trevon Faulkner buried back-to-back 3-pointers for a 24-19 Norse lead with 10:03 to go.
• Marques Warrick erased a 34-all tie with a triple as part of a 9-1 run to close the half.
• NKU procured six steals and scored 10 points off turnovers and led 43-35 at the break.

 
SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• NKU's hot shooting continued after intermission, and Sam Vinson's 3-pointer at the 15:09 mark ensured a 12-point lead. The Norse's defense, however, was even more robust. NKU held Youngstown State to 26 points in the second half.
• The Norse led by 16 points on a Marques Warrick layup at the 13:49 mark.
• Youngstown State's Michael Akuchie, the No. 12 scorer in the Horizon League (14.3 ppg), was held scoreless until the 12:59 mark of the second half. He converted two free throws to bring his team within 14. Akuchie finished 0-for-8 from the field.
• NKU held Youngstown State scoreless for 4:15 while battling a cold stretch of its own. Tevin Ollison's 3-pointer ended the Penguins' drought and brought the team within nine with 5:47 left. That's as close as Youngstown State came in the remaining minutes.
• Chris Brandon ended the Norse's scoreless spell with a putback with 5:15 to go, launching an 8-1 NKU run, and the home team held on down the stretch. David Wassler matched NKU's largest lead – 17 points – on a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining.

GAME NOTES

• The teams played through three ties and five lead changes. NKU shot 50.9% for the game, with 48% efficiency from 3-point range.
• The Norse scored 14 points off turnovers, won the rebounding battle 34-25 and converted 15 second-chance points.
• NKU finished the regular season with an 18-13 (12-9) record and won 12 of its last 14 games, including three straight.

UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky hosts a team to be determined in a 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinal this Thursday, March 3, at 7 p.m.