ROCHESTER, Mich. – It was a tale of two halves for the Northern Kentucky men's basketball program as the Norse erased a nine-point halftime deficit with a 49-point, second-half surge to collect a 78-69 victory over conference foe Oakland at the Athletics Center O'rena on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Northern Kentucky improved to 19-12 overall and 14-6 in league play to lock up the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. It won't take long for the Norse and Grizzlies to meet again as NKU will host Oakland for the Horizon Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2 inside Truist Arena. Tip for the contest is set for 7 PM ET.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 78, Oakland – 69
LOCATION: Athletics Center O'rena – Rochester, Michigan
RECORDS: NKU 19-12 (14-6 HL), OAK 13-18 (11-9 HL)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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Sam Vinson paced the Norse with 19 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. It was a new season best in points for the standout sophomore.
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Marques Warrick continued to push the NKU NCAA Division I era all-time mark for points scored in a single-season with 14 points along with three helpers. The Lexington, Ky. native is now up to 588 points scored so far this year, a mark that now ranks fourth all-time in program history.
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Trey Robinson just missed out on a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. He also chipped in five assists and went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
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Chris Brandon had another big day on the glass and also just missed out on a double-double with seven points and 11 boards. He also recorded a game-best two blocks and one steal.
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Xavier Rhodes finished with a game-high eight assists along with five points and four boards.
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Trevon Faulkner made it four Norse in double-figures as he chipped in 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
- NKU shot 39.29 percent in the first half (11-of-28) but flipped the script in the second with a 58.62 (17-of-29) performance from the field.
- As a whole, the Norse shot 15-of-26 from beyond the arc (57.7 percent).
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
DARRIN HORN PRESSER
NEXT UP
It's postseason time for the Norse as NKU will host Oakland in the Horizon League Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2 inside Truist Arena. Tip for the highly anticipated contest is set for 7 PM ET. Tickets for the game will be available soon on NKUNorse.com/Tickets or by calling the NKU ticket office at 859-572-7848.
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