WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Northern Kentucky men's basketball continued its tough non-conference schedule on Friday night, as the Norse traveled to Mackey Arena to take on the #14 Purdue Boilermakers.
NKU showed fight, but Purdue proved to be too much to overcome in the loss.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 50, Purdue - 72
LOCATION: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Indiana)
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 0-2 (0-0 Horizon), Purdue: 2-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sam Vinson posted his best effort since returning from injury, finishing with eight points and six boards while adding a pair of assists and three steals.
- Turnovers were even with each side having 13. Rebounds were even as well at 33. NKU held a 15-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
- Trey Robinson finished with eight points and six rebounds as well, going 6-6 from the foul line.
- Paulis Rapolis, the 7'0 freshman from Lithuania, saw his first collegiate action and posted four points and four rebounds.
- Keeyan Itejere fouled out, but finished with eight points in 19 minutes, throwing down a thunderous dunk in the second half.
- Josh Dilling finished with seven points, five boards and three assists.
- As a team, the Norse shot 11-14 from the charity stripe.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Purdue took an early lead thanks to a hot start from the field, but NKU continued to chip away throughout the first half, cutting the deficit to as little as five points. The Boilermakers led by 13 at halftime.
- NKU continued to battle throughout the second half, but ultimately fell to the nation's 14th ranked team.
UP NEXT
- NKU will host Nicholls State at Truist Arena in the home opener on Thursday, November 14.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I college team through @NKUNorseMBB on Twitter, @nkunorsembb on Instagram, nkunorsembb on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
