DAYTON, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program played a solid opening 20 minutes, but the Norse could not survive a strong second half surge as Wright State collected an 83-65 Horizon League victory in front of 5,659 fans inside the Nutter Center in a nationally-televised game on Friday night.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 65, Wright State – 83
LOCATION: Ervin J. Nutter Center – Dayton, Ohio
RECORDS: NKU 15-11 (10-5 HL), WSU 16-11 (9-7 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Marques Warrick tried to single-handily pull the Norse to victory as the standout junior posted 27 points on a 10-of-18 night from the field, which included a mark of 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds, two assists and a steal. It is the ninth game so far this season that the Lexington, Kentucky native has topped 20 points in a contest.
- Sam Vinson continued his strong run of late with 19 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Vinson has now gone for double-digit points in seven of the past eight games.
- Warrick and Vinson combined for 48 points on 17-of-32 shooting (.531) while the rest of NKU went for just 19 points on a 7-of-34 (.205) performance from the field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wright State started the game on a 13-2 advantage with 12:57 left in the opening half.
- NKU fought right back and tied the game at 15-15 with 8:21 remaining in the first.
- The two sides finished even down the stretch, with the Raiders going on a slight 19-16 run to take a 34-31 lead after 20 minutes of play.
- It was all Wright State in the second half as the Raiders won the final frame by a 49-34 margin to collect the 83-65 victory. The Norse were held to a 34.29 percent clip from the field in the half while the Raiders shot a blistering 71.43 percent.
 
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky returns home for Senior Day on Super Bowl Sunday as the Norse play host to conference foe IUPUI on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1 PM ET inside Truist Arena. The game will be regionally televised on Bally Sports Ohio and can be heard anywhere in the country on ESPN 1530.
 
 
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