INDIANAPOLIS – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program is rolling as the Norse collected their fourth straight win with a 71-55 defeat of IUPUI in a conference clash inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, NKU remained perfect in the Horizon League with a 2-0 mark in league play.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 71, IUPUI – 55
LOCATION: Indiana Farmers Coliseum – Indianapolis, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 5-3 (2-0 HL), IUPUI 3-6 (0-2 HL)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Marques Warrick paced the Norse once again with 24 points on a 9-of-15 afternoon from the field, which included a mark of 3-of-4 from downtown. He added two assists and a steal in 35 minutes of work. With 100 career games to his name, Warrick has now gone for 20-plus points in 42 contests.
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Sam Vinson posted a strong all-around game with 13 points, four boards, four assists and a game-best four steals. As of press time, Vinson leads the Horizon with an average of 2.3 swipes per contest and is tied for the overall lead in the category with 18 on the young season.
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Cade Meyer continued his recent run of strong play as he posted 12 points (on a 6-of-8 showing from the field) to go along with three rebounds and a steal. The transfer student-athlete from Green Bay set a season-best in points, minutes (23), made field goals and steals. Meyer has now posted back-to-back games of double-digit points.
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Jeramiah Israel exploded for nine points in just eight minutes of action with a 3-of-5 shooting performance.
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Trey Robinson chipped in eight points, four rebounds, two helpers and two swipes.
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Michael Bradley finished tied for the game-best with four assists. It was his sixth game of the season with four-plus helpers.
- Northern Kentucky finished with a huge edge in points in the paint with a 40-20 advantage and forced 22 IUPUI turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It was a slow start for both teams as the Norse jumped out to a 7-0 lead five minutes into the contest.
- IUPUI would end the final 15 minutes with a slight 25-19 edge but neither team could really get anything going. It isn't that either side shot particularly bad, as the Norse were at nearly a 41 percent rate from the field and the Jaguars hit at a 50 percent clip, but both squads made just nine field goals apiece in the first 20 minutes as NKU held the slight 26-25 advantage. A slight boost for Northern Kentucky occurred at the buzzer as Warrick beat the clock to give NKU a small lead heading into the half.
- Northern Kentucky doubled its output in the second half with 18 made field goals as the Norse shot a blazing 62.1 percent. NKU won the final 20 by a 45-30 margin to close out the 16-point victory over IUPUI. Full second half highlights are below:
POST GAME PRESSER
NEXT UP
The Norse hit the road for a non-conference battle against Illinois State on Wednesday, December 6 at 8 PM ET inside CEFCU Arena. The game will
played in front of a national audience on ESPN+ and can be
heard anywhere in the country on Fox Sports 1360.
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.
