The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball team traveled to Kent State this Sunday afternoon and had several players find career-highs in a few columns, but ultimately lost the matchup, falling 73-92. The Norse move to 2-3 on the season while the Golden Flashes improve to 3-1.
STATS LEADERS
- Trevon Faulkner bumps his career-high in scoring to 28 points after his play against Kent State. The junior guard had previously met the 24-point mark on two occasions at BB&T Arena, against Texas Southern and Cleveland State last year. Faulkner added four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his stat sheet.
- Freshman David Böhm joined Faulkner with a career-high afternoon with 19 of his own points, besting his previous outing on Dec. 3 against Tennessee Tech where he poured in 12 points. Böhm dropped three three’s in his performance.
- Adrian Nelson was close to claim another double-double, snatching 14 rebounds and contributing eight points. He tied his career-high in steals with four and added two assists and a block.
- Marquis Warrick was another player in double-digit scoring for the Norse, dropping 11 points on 3-of-8 (38 percent) shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 (100 percent) shooting from the charity stripe.
TURNING POINT
- The Golden Flashes completed a 12-0 run early in the first half to take an eight point lead at the 12:46 mark. NKU was never able to reclaim the lead.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- The first half started with a consistent battle between the Norse and Golden Flashes, buckets were traded and the lead was never more than two points until the 15:02 mark.
- Kent State utilized several runs throughout the half, the first a 12-0 run that proved to be a statement that received no rebuttal from the Norse. The Golden Flashes maintained the lead following the run.
- NKU forced six steals, but Kent State bested the Norse in assists (16-8), rebounds (18-14) and points off turnovers (11-10).
- The Golden Flashes shot at a 63 percent (22-for-35) clip from the floor and maintained a 50 percent (6-for-12) clip from beyond-the-arc.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Despite the 17-point deficit at the half, NKU brought the game back within nine points on two separate occasions late in the second half. Both instances were marked by a Faulkner and-one, cutting the lead from double-digits by sinking his free throw after a take to the rim.
- NKU’s defense tightened up and converted on turnovers, adding 17 points to the scoring column compared to Kent State’s seven on points off miscues.
- Scoring was tighter in the second half with Northern Kentucky only outscored by four points, 36-40.
- The battle of the boards was remarkably even despite Kent State shooting 37-of-67 (55 percent) from the field. NKU snagged 17 offensive boards compared to Kent State’s 11, which helped the Norse keep the rebounding margin within four for the game at 34-39.
GAME NOTES
- Only four players filled the scoring column in the first half. Faulkner, Böhm, Nelson and Warrick were the only players to score through the first half and until the 17:35 mark of the second half when Bryson Langdon tallied a layup.
- Prior to the game, Nelson had been averaging 12.0 rebounds per game. His 14 rebound performance tonight will boost his stat line to 12.4.
- NKU found itself with the advantage in points off turnovers for the game, adding 27 points off Kent State miscues compared to the 19 points converted off Norse turnovers.
- The Norse brought in 17 offensive boards which boosted its score by 21 second chance points.
UP NEXT
Northern Kentucky will play host to Youngstown State in a back-to-back series beginning on Saturday, Dec. 19, in what will mark its first Horizon League competition of the season. The 2 p.m. matchup will be broadcast on ESPN3 and FoxSports1360 (1360AM).
#NorseUp
Macy WrightNorthern Kentucky University
