The Northern Kentucky men’s basketball continues to surge in the second half of games.
The Norse again put together a solid final 20 minutes of basketball together, taking down IUPUI on Saturday on the road, 71-55. NKU outscored the Jaguars 45-30 in the second half.
Marques Warrick paced the Norse with 24 points, an efficient day as he hit 9-of-15 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point land. Sam Vinson added 13 points, Cade Meyer providing 12 of the Norse’s 24 bench points in the contest.
NKU’s second half included 18-of-29 shooting from the field. They owned a 40-20 points in the paint advantage for the contest. The Norse’s defense rose to the occasion, forcing 22 turnovers, which enabled them to have 12 more shot attempts in the game.
After a 7-0 start for NKU to open up the contest, three ties and four lead changes made for a tight first half. Warrick’s stepback jumper at the buzzer gave them a 26-25 lead at the break.
IUPUI took a 30-28 lead in the early stages of the second half, NKU responding with a 14-3 run to open the game up. IUPUI got no closer than six from there.
The win gets NKU to 5-3 on the season, 2-0 in Horizon League play as they don’t return to conference action again until Dec. 29 at Purdue Fort Wayne. NKU hits the floor next on Wednesday at Illinois State. NKU has won four straight against the Jaguars (3-6, 0-2), improving to 9-3 in the all-time series.