@NKUNorseMBB earns No. 4 seed in #HLMBB Tournament
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
- Cleveland State
- Wright State
- Oakland
- Northern Kentucky
- Detroit Mercy
- Youngstown State
- Green Bay
- Milwaukee
- IUPUI
- Purdue Fort Wayne
- UIC
- 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.