NKU mens basketball prepares for Horizon League Tournament

@NKUNorseMBB earns No. 4 seed in #HLMBB Tournament

  • NKU athletics
    NKU athletics

With the regular season squarely in the review mirror, the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball has earned the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Tournament the league office announced Saturday night.

With the No. 4 seed in the tournament, Northern Kentucky has earned a bye into the quarterfinals and will host a game against the highest-remaining seed that advances from the first round on Tuesday, March 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Norse closed the regular season with a 13-10 record, including an 11-7 mark in the Horizon League.

#HLMBB Championship Seeding

  1. Cleveland State
  2. Wright State
  3. Oakland
  4. Northern Kentucky
  5. Detroit Mercy
  6. Youngstown State
  7. Green Bay
  8. Milwaukee
  9. IUPUI
  10. Purdue Fort Wayne
  11. UIC
  12. Robert Morris

@NKUMMB fell on senior night to Wright State, 77-71.

NKU drops to 13-10 for the season (11-7 Horizon League), and Wright State advances to 18-5 on the year (16-4 Horizon League).

STATS LEADERS

  • Marques Warrick led the Norse in the scoring column with 21 and went 3-of-6 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Warrick added one offensive rebound to his game as well.
  • Adrian Nelson led NKU with 13 rebounds with four being on the offensive end. Nelson added in 10 points and went 5-for-7 (71 percent) from the field.
  • Bryson Langdon scored 16 points for the Norse, shooting 7-for-12 (58 percent) from the field. Langdon dished out six assists for the night and grabbed three rebounds.
  • Trevon Faulkner pitched in nine points and 10 rebounds in the contest.

FIRST HALF SUMMARY

  • NKU went on a 4:39 minute scoring drought, allowing Wright State to take a nine-point advantage. David Böhm stopped the drought with a jam at the 10:25 mark.
  • The Norse eventually eclipsed the 10-point threshold with 9:40 remaining in the first half as Warrick attacked the paint and converted a jumper.
  • A dunk by Nelson and three-point basket by Adam Eleeda were both dished out by Langdon and cut Wright State’s lead to eight, 25-17.
  • Warrick came alive and pulled down an offensive rebound to give himself a change to work in the post. Warrick’s bucket was good and brought the score to 29-23 in favor of WSU.
  • The Norse went on a 9-3 run, which was fueled by Langdon. Langdon swished a pair of baskets in the lane and Nelson followed up with a layup of his own.
  • The and-one basket and free throw by Warrick at the 1:14 mark brought the score within three points. Going into the break, Langdon kept the game within three, 37-34, with a smooth jumper.

SECOND HALF SUMMARY

  • Eleeda came out of the half with the hot hand and drilled a triple. His three tied up the game at 37 each, which is the first share of the lead for the Norse since the 18:19 mark in the first half.
  • The Norse stayed on the Raiders’ heels with a basket and three from Warrick and Faulkner, respectively. At the 15:30 mark, Warrick’s shotclock-beating three put the Norse within two.
  • Langdon gave Böhm the opportunity to cut the game to one point. Böhm converted with a three and then followed himself with another basket, giving NKU the lead for the first time of the night at the 11:45 mark.
  • Nelson came up big with a jam thanks to the assist from Langdon. Langdon’s sixth assist of the night gave the Norse a four-point advantage with 6:28 left to play.
  • Wright State went on a 11-5 run after Nelson’s dunk until the 1:21 mark. Warrick contributed all five points with a three and a pair of free throws.
  • To conclude the game, the Raider’s hit six free throws to secure the win, 77-71.

GAME NOTES

  • NKU and WSU shot similarly from the floor. Both teams went 7-of-21 (33 percent) from beyond the arc and shot at a 44 percent clip from the field. However, the Raiders converted on 16 of 21 free throws compared to the Norse’s 8-of-9 performance.
  • Nelson’s 13-rebounds, 10-point performance led to his sixth double-double on the year.
  • This is Warrick’s ninth 20-point performance of the year, and he goes back-to-back nights of completing the feat against Wright State.
  • In the last six games, Langdon has dished out 29 assists with just five turnovers. He had six assists tonight on zero miscues.
  • In a pregame ceremony, NKU honored Eleeda as the team’s lone senior.