(Photo by Ryan Luster)
by Tim Daniel
Indianapolis--For the fifth time since going to Division one NCAA Basketball, the Norse are back in the Horizon League Championship game.
Tonight the Norse were matched up against the #1 seed Youngstown State Penguins. The Game got off to a tad of a slow start, then the Norse kicked into gear around the 8-minute mark in the first half, extending their lead to 17 points in the half. Guard Marques Warrick scored 16 points for the Norse in the first half.
Youngstown State fought its way back into the game cutting the lead down to just four points with 4:44 to go, though they lost their top player Dwayne Cohill with just over five minutes remaining due to fouling out. Former Norse Adrian Nelson had a double-double for the Penguins with 17 points and thirteen rebounds.
The Norse had another performance with balanced scoring, The dynamic duo of Sam Vinson and Marques Warrick each with double-digit scoring, then Xavier Rhodes using his athleticism to add twelve points of his own. The Norse also saw nine points off the bench from veteran guard Trevon Faulkner.
NKU now awaits the winner of the Cleveland State and Milwaukee game to see if they will qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history.
