By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
Northern Kentucky’s Adham Eleeda is the epitome of a 3-point shooting specialist. The senior guard has taken 28 total shots this season — all from behind the arc.
And when Eleeda heats up, especially against a zone defense, he suddenly turns into Adham “El-three-da.”
Youngstown State witnessed Eleeda’s long-range exploits Saturday afternoon at BB&T Arena. The Penguins employed a zone defense against NKU, and Eleeda found the openings. He knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half as the Norse turned a 15-8 deficit into a 34-31 lead at intermission.
By the time Eleeda and freshman guard Marques Warrick were finished shredding the Youngstown State defense, NKU owned a 79-64 victory in the Horizon League opener.
“They played zone early on in the game, and I thought our guys did a good job of not panicking,” NKU head coach Darrin Horn said. “I can’t say enough about Adham Eleeda, especially in the first half. He made some big threes for us to help us out when we were struggling a little bit offensively.”
Eleeda scored a career-best 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc. NKU snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-3 overall, 1-0 in the Horizon League.
“Adham’s got a real knack for finding the open area,” Horn said. “He really utilized that in the first half. I think you’re seeing a much-improved player with maturity, and we’re really pleased to see him get rewarded for the hard work he’s put in.”
Warrick netted a career-high 18 points for the Norse, who defeated Youngstown State for the eighth consecutive time. The Henry Clay High School graduate buried a trio of 3-pointers and added five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
“Spacing on offense,” Warrick said of NKU’s success against the zone. “Credit to our point guard (Bryson Langdon). He found us in our spots and we just knocked them down. Spacing was the key, though.”
Michael Akuchie scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Youngstown State, which dropped to 3-1 overall, 0-1 in the Horizon League. The Penguins were held to 35 percent shooting from the field, including 3-for-18 from 3-point range.
Naz Bohannon added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Darius Quisenberry and Geoff Hamperian each scored 11 points.
After a slow start, NKU heated up from the field and finished at 54.5 percent shooting for the game. The Norse converted 63 percent of their shots from the field in the second half and used a 7-0 run at the start to build a 41-31 advantage.
Youngstown State, which was picked second to Wright State in the Horizon League preseason poll, never threatened again. NKU led by as many as 19 points in the second half and claimed the opener of the two-game weekend series.
“I thought we really shared the ball well,” Horn said of attacking Youngstown State’s zone defense. “This is a team that enjoys moving the basketball, finding the open guy.”
Langdon scored 12 points grabbed three rebounds for NKU. Trevon Faulkner finished with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Adrian Nelson pulled down 10 rebounds and added six points for NKU. He also passed Craig Sanders for 47th place on the Norse’s all-time career rebounding list.
NKU and Youngstown State conclude the two-game series at 3 p.m. Sunday at BB&T Arena.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 79, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 64
YOUNGSTOWN STATE (64)
Quisenberry 4-12 2-2 11, Rathan-Mayes 1-8 4-4 6, Bohannon 5-12 2-2 12, Akuchie 3-8 9-10 15, Covington 0-3 2-4 2, Hamperian 5-6 0-0 11, Ganley 2-5 0-2 4, Vargo 1-4 0-0 2, Dunn 0-1 0-0 0, Ogoro 0-0 0-0 0, Traore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 19-24 64.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (79)
Faulkner 5-8 1-2 11, Langdon 3-6 4-4 12, Eleeda 6-7 0-0 18, Nelson 3-8 0-0 6, Warrick 7-9 1-3 18, Robinson 2-5 0-2 4, Böhm 3-9 2-3 8, Hines 1-1 0-0 3, Djoko 0-1 0-0 0, Harding 0-1 0-0 0, Hupmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 8-14 79.
HALFTIME: NKU 34-31. 3-POINTERS: (NKU 11-27, YSU 3-18). REBOUNDS: NKU 35 (Nelson 10), YSU 35 (Bohannon, Akuchie 9).
RECORDS: NKU 3-3, 1-0 Horizon League; YSU 3-1, 0-1 Horizon League.
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.