YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program suffered a 74-56 setback at the hands of conference rival Youngstown State in front of a near sell-out crowd inside the Beeghly Center on Saturday night.
 
The Norse still sit in great standings in the conference as the Norse are ranked third in the Horizon with a mark of 10-4 in league play. NKU is a half game back of second-place Milwaukee and just a single-game back of the conference's new leader in Youngstown State.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 56, Youngstown State – 74
LOCATION: Beeghly Center – Youngstown, Ohio
RECORDS: NKU 15-10 (10-4 HL), YSU 19-6 (11-3 HL)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sam Vinson paced the Norse with a season-best 18 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. The standout sophomore has reached double-digits in scoring in six of the last seven games. Over that span, Vinson is averaging 14.28 points per contest.
- Trey Robinson continued his strong offensive play of late with 11 points along with two boards and a steal. The junior forward has reached double-digits in scoring in three straight games and four of his last five contests overall. He is averaging 14 points per game over his last three contests played.
- Chris Brandon finished with double-digit rebounds for the 13th time this season as he pulled down 10 boards and added two points. It is the fourth consecutive game that he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in a contest. Over the stretch, Brandon is averaging 13 rebounds per game.
- Trevon Faulkner added seven points and two steals.
- The rest of the Norse combined for just 18 points in the loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two sides played a back-and-forth affair as Youngstown State held a slight 36-32 edge after the opening 20 minutes of play.
- It was all YSU in the second half as the Penguins won the final 20 minutes by a 38-24 margin to close out the 74-56 conference win.
 
NEXT UP
Northern Kentucky will get a well-deserved break before returning to the court on the national stage as the Norse head to rival Wright State on Friday, Feb. 10 for another Horizon League clash inside the Nutter Center. Tip is set for 9 PM ET and the game will be played in front of a national audience on ESPNU. Fans can also listen to 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.