By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
In the world of college basketball, disappointing afternoons in December can ultimately lead to uplifting moments in March.
That’s the path Northern Kentucky hopes to follow after suffering a 70-60 loss to visiting Youngstown State on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Arena. The Norse — who had beaten the Penguins eight consecutive times since 2017, including a 79-64 win on Saturday — never found an offensive rhythm and shot just 27.3 percent from 3-point range.
It allowed a veteran Youngstown State team to rally from a 40-36 deficit with a 14-2 run midway through the second half and salvage a split of the Horizon League two-game weekend series.
“I thought the difference in the game was Youngstown State is a veteran team, and they probably didn’t feel real good about the way they played yesterday,” NKU head coach Darrin Horn said. “They came out and were the aggressors today, especially in the second half, attacking the basket and the way they defended.
“We have to find a way to respond to that and to continue to play better on the offensive end when it happens.”
Naz Bohannon scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Youngstown State, which improved to 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the Horizon League. The Penguins shot 53.8 percent from the field in the second half and defeated NKU for the first time since Feb. 18, 2017.
“The key to this game was going to be the mentality,” Horn said. “Youngstown State was going to respond. They were going to come out and play very physical. Bohannon was going to try to redeem himself and play better, and I thought they did that.”
Michael Akuchie added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Youngstown State. The Penguins also converted 17 of 22 free throws, including 12-of-15 shooting in the second half, and won the battle of the boards by a 35-30 margin.
Trevon Faulkner led NKU (3-4 overall, 1-1 Horizon League) with 20 points. Adrian Nelson added nine points and 12 rebounds, while Bryson Langdon also chipped in nine points.
NKU freshmen Marques Warrick (eight points) and David Böhm (five points) shot a combined 5-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-12 from 3-point range. Norse freshman Trey Robinson did not attempt a shot from the field and scored two points.
“We have a young team, we’re not a big team. So we’ve got to play with an extreme amount of mental toughness,” Horn said. “I think when we didn’t score early and shoot the ball well, we did not respond like we needed to on the defensive end. I think we let that affect us. Some of that is a maturity thing, and some of it is we need to do a better job of coaching them through that.”
NKU held Youngstown State standout guard Darius Quisenberry to just seven points, but Shemar Rathan-Mayes netted 13 points, including a trio of clutch 3-pointers.
Faulkner summed up where NKU needs to improve if the Norse are to challenge for the Horizon League title.
“Defense. That’s our main focus,” Faulkner said. “We really didn’t guard the way we needed to.”
And what about playing the same team on back-to-back days?
“It’s a challenge,” Faulkner said. “It’s something we need to get used to.”
NKU hits the road for Rochester, Mich., next weekend to take on Oakland. The opener of the two-game series is Saturday at 7 p.m.
YOUNGSTOWN STATE 70, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 60
YOUNGSTOWN STATE (70)
Quisenberry 2-8 2-2 7, Rathan-Mayes 4-8 2-3 13, Bohannon 7-14 5-5 19, Akuchie 4-7 5-6 14, Covington 3-9 3-4 9, Hamperian 0-3 0-2 0, Vargo 3-6 0-0 8, Traore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 17-22 70.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (60)
Faulkner 8-18 3-3 20, Langdon 3-6 2-2 9, Eleeda 1-3 0-0 3, Nelson 4-7 1-2 9, Warrick 3-11 0-0 8, Robinson 0-0 2-2 2, Böhm 2-8 0-0 5, Hines 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 23-56 8-9 60.
HALFTIME: NKU 27-25. 3-POINTERS: (NKU 6-22, YSU 7-20). REBOUNDS: NKU 30 (Nelson 12), YSU 35 (Akuchie 12).
RECORDS: YSU 4-1, 1-1 Horizon League; NKU 3-4, 1-1 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.