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NKU shoots 72 percent in second half, rallies for 81-76 road win at Robert Morris on Friday night


NKyTribune staff

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Northern Kentucky shot a blistering 72 percent from the field in the second half Friday night and gave head coach Darrin Horn his 200th career win during an 81-76 triumph at Robert Morris.

NKU freshman Marques Warrick poured in 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including a 3-for-4 clip from 3-point territory. Trevon Faulkner added 18 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

NKU improved to 6-8 overall, 4-5 in the Horizon League. Robert Morris dropped to 3-6 overall, 2-4 in the Horizon League.

Trevon Faulkner (left) scored 18 points on Friday night as NKU head coach Darrin Horn (right) picked up his 200th career victory. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

David Böhm contributed 16 points for NKU, while Adrian Nelson made six of his seven shot attempts and finished with 12 points. Bryson Langdon added nine points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds as NKU snapped a four-game losing streak and collected its first road victory of the season.

Trailing by two entering the second half, NKU hit its first seven field-goal attempts and did not miss until the 14:33 mark of the second stanza. The Norse eventually pulled ahead 51-46 on Faulkner’s 3-pointer with 13:45 remaining.

NKU’s advantage swelled to nine, 61-52, just three minutes later after Warrick canned a trey and Böhm made a pair of free throws. Robert Morris eventually pulled within three at 63-60, but the Norse scored 13 of the next 16 points to take a commanding lead.

NKU shot 72 percent (18-for-25) in the second half. The Norse made 8-of-14 from 3-point range, meaning they converted 10-of-11 shots inside the arc after intermission.

“We did not have any answers on the defensive side in the second half,” Robert Morris head coach Andrew Toole said. “We really have to attack the defensive side of the ball and figure out how to get a stop, because that really did us in tonight. They got wherever they wanted to get off the bounce. We battled, but we have to be more detailed and make the plays.”

Marques Warrick

NKU shot 58 percent from the field for the game and 39 percent (9-for-23) from 3-point range. The last time NKU made 70 percent of its shots in a half came on Dec. 8, 2019, when it made 70.8 percent (17-for-24) in the second half during a 76-57 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Warrick has now scored at least 20 points in five of the last seven contests. The Henry Clay High School graduate is averaging 17.9 points per contest during that span.

Horn also picked up his 200th career win. He won 111 games at Western Kentucky, 60 at South Carolina and 29 at NKU.

Friday marked the first-ever meeting between NKU and Robert Morris in men’s basketball.

NKU and Robert Morris conclude the two-game series at 5 p.m. Saturday.

(Information compiled from Robert Morris, NKU Athletics Communications and staff reports)


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