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

 
INDIANAPOLIS – Northern Kentucky's bid for a 2022 Horizon League Basketball Championship and NCAA Tournament automatic bid ended in heartbreak with a 72-71 loss to Wright State at Indiana Farmers Coliseum Tuesday night.
 
The third-seeded Norse led by 16 points with 11:41 left to play. The fourth-seeded Raiders mounted a 16-2 run and pulled within two points in a game that came down to the final seconds.
 
Although Marques Warrick's 3-pointer pushed the Norse ahead by one with 20 seconds left, Wright State's Trey Calvin cemented the outcome with a pull-up jumper at the 10.5-second mark. The Norse's final shot missed, and the Raiders prevailed.
 
Warrick and Trevon Faulkner were named to the All-Tournament Team. The Norse finished the season with a 20-12 record (14-6 Horizon League) and won 14 of their last 17 games.

STATS LEADERS

• Marques Warrick scored a team-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a 3-of-3 mark from 3-point range.
• Trevon Faulkner scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half behind 6-of-6 free-throw shooting. He went 7-for-8 from the stripe throughout and added three rebounds.
• Bryson Langdon contributed 12 points and two assists with a steal.
• Adrian Nelson scored 10 points and chipped in a team-second five rebounds.
• Chris Brandon retrieved a team-high seven boards.

TURNING POINT

• NKU led by 16 points with 11:41 remaining but Wright State embedded a 14-0 tear within a 16-2 run to claw back into contention. Trey Calvin's jumper with 10.5 seconds left proved to be the game-winner.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

• NKU started the game with a 6-0 spurt, capped by Wright State losing Bryson Langdon in transition and the point guard converting an open layup. The Norse started 3-for-3 from the field while the Raiders started 1-for-7.
• The game's complexion changed slightly when Wright State season second-leading scorer Grant Basile and NKU season scoring leader Marques Warrick both picked up their second fouls within seconds of each other. Warrick exited at the 12:14 mark after an offensive foul.
• NKU held the Raiders scoreless for 2:08 and led by as many as six points with 9:27 left in the first half, thanks in part to Trey Robinson's high arcing 3-pointer. The triple gave NKU a 22-16 lead.
• Trey Calvin erupted for 13 of Wright State's first 24 points. Bryson Langdon scored 10 of NKU's first 28 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
• Marques Warrick ended a nearly four-minute field goal drought with a 3-pointer that gave NKU a 33-28 edge with 3:48 left.
• The Norse committed four turnovers in a 3:37 spate but kept the Raiders from overtaking the lead. Trevon Faulkner buried a crucial 3-pointer for a 36-30 edge.
• Trevon Faulkner actually scored NKUs's last six points. Fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 9.6 second left, Faulkner converted all three shots. That gave NKU a 39-32 halftime lead.
• The Norse shot 60.9% in the first half and held Wright State to 35.3% shooting. NKU scored 10 points off turnovers and outscored the Raiders in the paint 22-12.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

• Marques Warrick started the second half with a layup and a 3-pointer, giving NKU a 44-34 lead. As the Raiders became mired in a five-minute field goal drought, the Norse harnessed the momentum and surged ahead 51-37
• Marques Warrick increased the Norse's cushion to 57-41 with 11:41 to play.
• Grant Basile's two-handed dunk was part of a 14-0 Raiders run that inched the team within three points with 8:35 to play. Basile converted a 3-point play to make it 57-53 and assisted Andrew Welage on a layup. Tanner Holden scored eight points in the run.
• Adrian Nelson stopped the run with a layup at the 8:23 mark but the Raiders extended the stretch to 16-2 and made it a one-possession game (59-57) with 8:02 left. The Raiders made nine of 10 field goals in the game-changing stretch.
• Trevon Faulkner's free-throw brought the Norse within two points with 1:01 remaining and Marques Warrick hit a pivotal 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go. Trey Calvin responded with a game-winning jumper with 10.5 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

• The game featured five ties and six lead changes. NKU led 39-32 at halftime; the Raiders outscored the Norse 40-32 after the break.
• NKU scored 20 points off the Raiders' 11 turnovers. Wright State scored 14 points off NKU's 14 miscues.
• The Norse shot 51.1% for the game including 45.5% from the perimeter.
• NKU was edged on the glass, 30-28, and in second-chance points (11-8).