The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball squad got its first victory of the 2022-23 season as the Norse blew out visiting UC Clermont, 89-49, at Truist Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Inside the box score:
• Standout guard Marques Warrick found his shooting stroke to pace the Norse offense with a game-high 26 points on a 10-of-20 performance from the field, which included a 5-of-9 showing from beyond the arc. He also added four assists, three boards and two steals.
• Chris Brandon had another big day on the glass as the fifth-year forward pulled in 12 boards to go with 16 points on an 8-of-9 day from the field. He has now pulled in at least 12 rebounds in back-to-back games to open the 2022-23 campaign.
• Trevon Faulkner made his presence felt on both ends of the court with 17 points (on 7-of-12 shooting), as he chipped in eight boards, three steals and an assist.
• Newcomer Xavier Rhodes has been a guiding hand at the point guard position for NKU. The first-year Norse finished with a game-best six assists and four steals to go with six points scored. He was an almost unheard of plus-46 in the contest.
• Hubertas Pivorius (nine points), Trey Robinson (eight), Imanuel Zorgvol (four), Isaiah Mason (two) and Noah Hupmann (one) all contributed points for Northern Kentucky.
• Zorgvol also added a game-high three rejections in the contest.
• For the game, NKU shot 51.5 percent from the field, which included a mark of 19-of-32 (59.4 percent) in the second half.
• The Norse put up 46 points in the paint, scored 40 points off of turnovers and forced 27 UC Clermont turnovers.
How it happened:
• UC Clermont caught fire to start the game and jumped out to a 16-11 lead with 12:57 left in the opening half.
• It was all NKU from there as the Norse went on a 30-12 run to edge the half to take a 41-28 lead into the locker room. Over the stretch Northern Kentucky shot 12-of-23 from the field while the Norse allowed UC Clermont to get off just 12 attempts in total.
• It was NKU’s turn to start a half off on a hot streak as the Norse scored five straight baskets, including three consecutive three’s from Warrick, to extend its lead to 54-28 with 16:03 remaining.
• The Norse ended the game on a 35-21 advantage to close out the 89-49 non-conference victory.
Northern Kentucky University Athletics
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