The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team (7-5) handled University of Miami (Ohio) at Hamilton at Truist Arena on Sunday, 81-41.
After trailing 5-4 early, Northern Kentucky finished the first half with a 36-13 run to go up 40-18 at the break. Miami-Hamilton opened the second half with a 13-3 run in the first four minutes, but the Norse finished the game with a 38-10 run as they found their groove offensively, making 67 percent from the field over the final eight minutes and held Miami-Hamilton without a field goal over that time.
“The goal is to get better,” said Darrin Horn, Northern Kentucky head coach. “Of course you want to win the game. But with such a talent disparity, you also want to make sure that you’re getting better at the things that you feel like you need to be good at no matter who you play. From that standpoint, we saw a lot of positives. I thought we really shared the ball well in terms of how we moved it and how unselfish we played. Outside of the first three minutes of the second half defensively, we played with the type of energy and aggressiveness that we need to be good.”
The Norse recorded 17 steals off 26 Miami-Hamilton turnovers. It is the most steals the Norse had in a game since making 21 on Dec. 12, 2021 against Alice Lloyd College.
Junior guard Marques Warrick led the way with 26 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and one steal. This marks the fifth time this season Warrick has recorded at least 20 points in a game and his 10th double-digit scoring game.
Redshirt freshman center Imanuel Zorgvol had a huge game with a career-high 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals in making 6-of-7 from the field. Sophomore point guard Sam Vinson had 12 points, a career-high eight steals to go with four rebounds and three assists. Vinson’s steals are a school record for the team during the NCAA Division I era.
Freshman guard A’lahn Sumler scored 12 points for the second straight game. He also had two rebounds, one steal and two assists.
Northern Kentucky travels to Florida Atlantic on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game.