Much like when he hugged his mother after winning the Horizon League conference championship last season, that’s when it hit Marques Warrick on what he finally did on Saturday.
The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball senior etched his name into the top of Norse scoring book history in a 79-67 victory over Detroit.
Coming into Saturday’s contest, Warrick needed 20 points to break Drew McDonald’s program scoring record of 2,066 career points. Sitting at 17 points in the latter stages of the second half, Warrick had to be feeling in the moment after two missed 3-pointers.
Another 3-point shot went up, but a whistle blew this time as Warrick was fouled with the shot clock winding down. Here was the moment, three free throws to break the record, the Norse holding a 62-49 lead with 4:35 to play.
“The first thing is knock these down for my team, we’re still in the game, trying to win for sure,” Warrick said. “But even if I didn’t know where I was at, I would know because everybody was screaming. Everybody was on their feet, so yeah, I knew that I needed those three to break the record.”
Warrick would go on to sink the first two, the last setting the stage for the record-breaking moment. He’d drain the third attempt, the crowd rising to their feet for a standing ovation as the Norse held a comfortable lead. Warrick would finish with 22 points, setting his career total at 2,069 points and counting.
“The first wave hit me when I hugged my mom and started crying,” Warrick said. “Just like when we won the championship last year I started crying. My family has been by my side from day one. Other people counting me out, coaches counting me out. My mom was right there by my side telling me to be patient and stay the course.”
That’s now two all-time scoring records, one at Henry Clay High School in Lexington and now the one in Highland Heights. Despite his accolades, Warrick wasn’t highly sought after on the recruiting scene in high school.
“You don’t do what he’s done without a tremendous amount of hard work and battling through a ton of adversity,” Norse head coach Darrin Horn said. “I mean, this was a guy that’s been shoved, grabbed, held, double teamed, you name it for going on three full years now basically since the end of his freshman season. And all he does is go out produce. Never see him act up, never seen him complain to a ref. He takes hard coaching and just keeps coming back and most importantly is about winning.”
Warrick’s trajectory here has been a true story of hitting the ground running. He hasn’t skipped a beat since he walked on campus. He scored 394 points his freshman season, 536 his sophomore year, 659 as a junior and currently sits at 480 in his senior campaign.
That equals out to averages of 15.8 points per game as a freshman, 16.8 as a sophomore, 18.8 in his junior campaign and 19.2 as a senior. With that, has come a lot of wins. In Warrick’s time in Highland Heights, the Norse have won 68 games and made an NCAA tournament. Just how Warrick wants it. Now that the record is out of the way, Warrick and the Norse can get back to the task at hand, which is trying to win the Horizon League conference tournament championship and getting back to the NCAA tournament.
“I try to come in every game with it being in the backburner on my mind, I want to win above all for sure,” Warrick said. “Hopefully this will allow me to make some threes now. I haven’t been shooting good at all. Been getting to the foul line, doing it in other ways, my two-point percentage is up, just finding a way honestly.”
Saturday’s win moved them to 8-6 in conference play and in a tie with Cleveland State for fifth in the Horizon League. A top five seed for the postseason tournament is vital, meaning a first round bye. A top four seed gets them a postseason home game before the tournament shifts to Indianapolis for the semifinals and championship round.
The Norse return to action on Wednesday at Horizon League leader Green Bay at 7 p.m.
