MILWAUKEE – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program found itself in an early-season battle for first place in the Horizon League, and despite a valiant effort to comeback by double-digit points, the Norse found themselves on the wrong end of an 80-75 conference decision to the Milwaukee Panthers inside UWM Panther Arena on Thursday night.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 75, Milwaukee – 80
LOCATION: UWM Panther Arena – Milwaukee, Wis.
RECORDS: NKU 10-8 (5-2 HL), UWM 12-5 (6-1 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Trevon Faulkner finished with a season-best 25 points on a 7-of-14 night from the field, which included a mark of 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. He was also a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe and added two boards, two steals and an assist. With his four made three-pointers, Faulkner tied Greg Phelia with 156 career made three's, the 15th most all-time in school history. His seven made free throws also tied Dan Fleming for 9th all-time for most career free throws made at NKU (307). Faulkner and his 1,491 career points now sit just four back of Paul Cluxton for 11th all-time in program history.
- Marques Warrick chipped in 16 points to go along with three assists, a rebound and a block. With the scoring output, the Lexington, Kentucky native now has 1,272 career points, which moves him into 19th all-time in school history. He sits just three points back of Dan Fleming for 18th all-time at NKU.
- Chris Brandon was a force on the glass all evening as he recorded 18 rebounds to go with eight points and a steal. It was the fourth time this season that Brandon has finished with 16 or more rebounds in a contest.
- Xavier Rhodes finished with a team-best seven assists and four steals and added seven points on the offensive end.
- A'lahn Sumler chipped in nine points off the bench.
- It was the first loss of the season when the Norse finished with 70 or more points. Coming into Thursday night, NKU was 6-0 when it broke the 70-point plateau.
- NKU also dropped to 2-1 in its gold uniforms.
- With the defeat, Northern Kentucky dropped to second place in the Horizon league, tied with Youngstown State, Oakland and Milwaukee at 5-2 overall. The Norse will look for revenge against the Panthers inside Truist Arena on Jan. 28 as part of NKU's homecoming celebration.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Milwaukee just could not miss in the opening 20 minutes, as the Panthers shot 62.96 percent from the field to take a 43-31 lead into the half.
- The Norse found themselves down 49-34 with 18:52 left in the second but went on an 8-0 run to make it 49-42 with 17:08 left.
- The Panthers extended their lead to 56-44 with 13:37 left, but NKU answered back once again with a 13-2 run of its own to cut it to 58-57 with 9:27 left to play.
- It was the closest the Norse would get, as NKU would continue to battle to finish the game, but it just wasn't enough in the end as Milwaukee collected the 80-75 victory. It was the Panthers fourth Horizon League win in a row.
 
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky remains on the road up North and is set for another Horizon League showdown this Saturday, Jan. 14 against Green Bay inside the Resch Center. Tip is set for 7 PM ET. NKU fans and supporters can watch the game live nationwide on ESPN+, or hear the game anywhere in the country on 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.