FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program started off its season-ending, four-game road trip with a big 63-50 victory over Horizon League foe Purdue Fort Wayne inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Friday night.
With the victory, NKU's second straight, the Norse improved to 12-5 in league play and moved into a three-way tie for second place in the conference. Northern Kentucky is tied with Milwaukee and Cleveland State and sits just a game back of Youngstown State for the No. 1 spot in the conference.
With a single win over its final three games, NKU can secure home court advantage in its upcoming opening round game of the Horizon League Championships.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 63, Purdue Fort Wayne – 50
LOCATION: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum – Fort Wayne, Indiana
RECORDS: NKU 17-11 (12-5 HL), PFW 15-13 (7-10 HL)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Marques Warrick paced the Norse attack once again with 22 points on an 8-of-15 night from the field. The standout junior from Lexington, Ky. also added four assists and three rebounds in the win. With his 528 points scored this season, Warrick is just 45 points from Drew McDonald for the NKU DI era record for most points scored in a single campaign and 136 points from Derek Fields for the all-time school record.
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Sam Vinson added a big nine points along with four assists, three rebounds and a game-high tying three steals. He entered the second half with just two points but went off for two straight three-pointers and a free throw all with under 3:06 left in the game to seal the NKU win.
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Chris Brandon was a force once again on the glass as he pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds. He also added four points. It was the 14th game this season Brandon has finished with double-digit boards. Brandon, who now has 266 rebounds on the season, sits just 42 boards back of NKU great Drew McDonald for most all-time during a single-season.
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Xavier Rhodes was a guiding hand at the point guard position with nine points, four boards and three assists.
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Trey Robinson added eight points and six rebounds, one assists, one block and a steal.
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Trevon Faulkner (six points, three boards, and three steals),
Jake Evans (three points, one rebound) and
A'lahn Sumler (two points, one assist) also contributed for the Norse.
HOW IT HAPPENED
HIGHLIGHTS
POST GAME PRESSER – DARRIN HORN
NEXT UP
The Norse get right back on the road and have just a single day off from competition before returning with another Horizon League clash, this time at Cleveland State, set for Sunday, Feb. 19 at 3 PM ET. The game will be streamed
in front of a national audience on ESPN+ and can be
heard 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,
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subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
