by Parker Fields
Coming into this showdown against a tough Youngstown State team the Norse had won
11 out of their last 13 games. Youngstown State did pose as a tough opponent for the Norse
coming into this game with an 18-12 overall record, so we knew this game was going to be a
battle.
This game started out honestly probably how you thought it would, a shootout. This
game early was a back-and-forth battle with both teams just trading buckets for the first 10
minutes or so. Then Youngstown had a little run for themselves. Youngstown State went to a
zone defense that stifled NKU for 3 or 4 minutes. The Norse were struggling to score once
they went to the zone. However, once NKU started attacking the middle of the zone and finding
open shooters from there, the Norse had no problems. The Norse three-headed monster at
guard between Marques Warrick, Sam Vinson, and Trevon Faulkner shot an outstanding 8-10
combined from three in the half. Overall, the Norse were able to control the tempo of the game
and play fast how they want to. On the other end of the floor, the Norse couldn’t really stop
Youngstown State either. Youngstown State hit 6 threes in the half and had Senior Tevin Olison
lead the way for them. Overall when the half was over the Norse put up an outstanding
offensive effort and led the game 43-35. Marques Warrick had 16 points to lead the Norse
followed by Trevon Faulkner with 10. The Norse shot 50% from the field and 75% from three.
Youngstown State was led by Tevin Olison with 10 points and Myles Hunter with 9.
The second half was a whole different story, this game became much more of a
defensive game than it was. These teams started forcing more turnovers and getting more stops.
Ten Minutes into the half Youngstown State was shooting a horrible 0-7 from the three-
point line. This trend continued the rest of the half as there were many more defensive stops
than there were baskets scored. The Norse ended up getting some baskets when they needed
to and slowly grinded this game out for a victory. The Norse played an outstanding half
defensively giving up baskets few and far between. The Norse just gave up 26 points the entire
half and ended up winning this one 75-61. This was a dominant win for the Norse against a very
good team that showed this team can win the Horizon League Tournament next week. NKU was
led by Marques Warrick with 22 points, Sam Vinson with 14, and Trevon Faulkner with 12.
Youngstown State was led by Tevin Olison with 15 points and Will Dunn with 14 points. The
Norse ended up shooting 51% from the field and 48% from three. Youngstown State shot 44%
from the field and 35% from three.
The way the Norse have played recently they look like they may be the team to beat in
the Horizon League Tournament and will have a good shot of ending up in the Big Dance this
year.
