NKU Blows Out University of the Cumberlands, 94-59
by Sean Mackey
The NKU Norse were out on a mission to bounce back from a discouraging last second loss to the Akron Zips last Saturday night. The visiting University of the Cumberlands Patriots were walking into Truist Arena an undefeated team at 12-0. Something had to give. Fortunately, the NKU Norse weren’t going to let such a disappointing loss affect their psyche and prevailed against the Patriots.
The Patriots came out of the gates swinging during the first half. They absolutely out-hustled the Norse for the first 10 minutes of the game and capitalized off of NKU’s poor shot percentage. They also hit some contested long range shots and took advantage of some bizarre lapses in defense from the Norse. However, NKU decided to stop messing around and put their foot on the gas and didn’t let up until the buzzer of the first 20 minutes. The Norse held Cumberlands to just 35.7% from the field, outrebounded them 22-15 and led 46-32 at the end of the half. Marques Warrick had 13 points (including 6-6 FT), Sam Vinson had 5 points and 4 steals and Trey Robinson had 8 points and 6 rebounds. Jonathan Brown of the Patriots had 12 points.
The Norse were determined not to let the Patriots get back into the game and continuously applied the pressure defensively. Cumberlands were unable to get into any sort of rhythm while NKU built a 35 point lead. The Patriots were held to an abysmal 35.6% and were outscored in the paint 48-26. They were also outrebounded 45-27 by the Norse. Marques Warrick dropped 22 points. Sam Vinson filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 assists and 6 steals. Trey Robinson nearly recorded a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
After the game, senior, Marques Warrick said “It was a great win. It took us a little while for us to get going defensively. We flipped the switch and it was a great all around performance, offensively and defensively for the whole team”. NKU Head Coach, Darrin Horn praised Trey Robinson's play and said "I don't know if there's a guy in our league that is as impactful as Trey Robinson is".
The Norse next travel to EKU this Sunday (12/17) to take on the in-state rival, Colonels for a late afternoon matinee (4:00 p.m., ESPN+).