Northern Kentucky pushed the Dayton Flyers, making a late run and trailing by just four with a little under a minute remaining, but ultimately dropped a 66-60 decision. The Norse slide to 2-2 on the season and the Flyers improve to 2-1.
STATS LEADERS
- Trevon Faulkner tallied 15 points, while adding five rebounds.
- Trey Robinson poured in 13 points behind 5-of-12 shooting and nabbed five boards.
- Bryson Langdon contributed 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
TURNING POINT
- A 13-0 run by the Flyers over a span of 1:44 early in the second half proved to be the difference.
FIRST HALF SUMMARY
- Dayton hit a three to open the game, but the Norse countered with the next nine points with Robinson delivering two buckets, Adham Eleeda burying a three and Nelson dropping a basket of his own. NKU held UD scoreless for 5:32.
- Faulkner and David Böhm got in on the scoring action as the Norse ran out to a 16-8 advantage by the under-12 media timeout.
- The Flyers retaliated with a 9-0 run themselves to momentarily regain the lead, but Faulkner knocked down a pair of free-throws to put the Norse back in front and start a stretch of back-of-forth action.
- Langdon briefly took over for the Norse, hitting a three and then converting a little kiss off the glass in the paint for a personal 5-0 run that pushed NKU ahead, 32-27.
- Four Flyers found the scoring column over the final 2:30 of the half to give Dayton a slim 36-32 lead headed into intermission.
- Robinson led NKU with eight points in the stanza, while Faulkner and Langdon both added six for the Norse.
- Preseason second-team all-American Jalen Crutcher and leading scorer Ibi Watson led Dayton in the half with 11 points, apiece.
- NKU shot 46 percent from the floor, while UD made 56 percent. Dayton led the battle of the boards, 16-12, but Northern Kentucky forced 11 turnovers that it turned into a 14-8 advantage in points off the miscues.
SECOND HALF SUMMARY
- Faulkner got a quick score in transition for NKU to open the second half. UD responded with 13-straight points over a span of 1:44 to grab a 15-point advantage.
- The Norse whittled away, using a pair of 5-0 spurts to pull within seven, 55-48, before the midway point of the stanza.
- NKU’s defense stayed strong over the next six minutes, allowing just six points. But, the offense managed just two points during the same span.
- However, headed into the final media timeout, Langdon converted a free throw and then found Faulkner in transition for a layup to cut the deficit to eight, 61-53.
- A 7-1 stretch by the Norse put the score at 64-60 with just 43-seconds remaining.
- The Flyers hit a pair of free throws with 20-seconds on the clock to set the final tally.
- Faulkner posted nine points in the half, but NKU struggled shooting the ball at a 31 percent clip.
- NKU’s defense forced another 11 UD turnovers.
GAME NOTES
- For the game, NKU shot 38 percent (21-of-56) while UD made 52 percent (26-of-52).
- The Norse forced a season-high 22 turnovers, which it turned into 20 points.
- NKU also outscored UD 14-12 in fastbreak points.
- Northern Kentucky was outrebounded 37-30, but was still able to pull down 15 offensive rebounds, including five from Faulkner.
- Langdon, Faulkner and Robinson swiped two steals each for the Norse.
NEXT UP
- Northern Kentucky heads to Kent State for a Sunday afternoon matinee on Dec. 13 with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
#NorseUp
Bryan
Bryan McEldowney
Assistant Athletic Director
Communications and Media Services
Northern Kentucky University
