By Don Owen
NKyTribune sports editor
Trevon Faulkner chuckled when asked about his three-quarter court heave that swished through the net at the halftime buzzer on Friday night against Illinois-Chicago.
The question? Had you ever made a shot from that distance during a game?
“No, never,” Faulkner said, flashing a big smile after Northern Kentucky held off a late UIC rally for a 72-68 win at BB&T Arena.
Faulkner had many reasons to be happy on Friday. The junior guard poured in 25 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds as NKU improved to 8-8 overall, 6-5 in the Horizon League. It marked the first career double-double for Faulkner, whose 60-footer at the halftime buzzer extended NKU’s lead to 32-23.
With the clock winding down, Zion Griffin missed a jumper that Faulkner rebounded. He dribbled up court, launched a desperation shot from about three-quarter court and the ball found the bottom of the net. It also provided plenty of momentum for NKU.
“It was high energy, and that’s what we needed going into the second half,” Faulkner said.
NKU head coach Darrin Horn was impressed by Faulkner’s highlight-reel launch that beat the buzzer. “The important thing about that was, he had the awareness to get it off, whether it goes in or not,” Horn said.
Sparked by the Faulkner’s buzzer-beater, NKU scored the first six points of the second half to take a 38-23 advantage. UIC, however, battled back with a 13-2 run to cut the Norse lead to 40-36.
“There are no easy ones in this league,” Horn said of the UIC rally.
NKU eventually pushed the lead to 61-49 when Adham Eleeda buried a 3-pointer with 4:27 left on the clock, but the visitors responded with a 9-0 run to make it a 61-58 score at the 2:23 mark.
Marques Warrick countered with a jumper to extend NKU’s lead to 63-58, but Griffin drained a 3-pointer to bring UIC to with 63-61 with 1:36 remaining. Faulkner made two free throws to push the Norse advantage to 65-61, but Teyvion Kirk answered with a basket to make it 65-63 with 48 seconds left.
Warrick once again responded, hitting a jumper in the lane to give NKU a 67-63 edge with 34 seconds left. He later made a pair of free throws to extend the Norse lead to 69-63, and Faulkner buried a pair of game-clinching free throws in the final seconds.
Faulkner finished 9-for-24 from the field, but Horn was pleased with the shot selection by the Mercer County High School graduate.
“I told him at halftime, ’You shot 16 times, Trevon, and I hope you shoot 30 tonight. Keep doing what you’re doing.’” Horn said. “Had a few of those fallen in, he would have had a monster night statically. Maybe just as important he grabs 12 rebounds.”
Warrick finished with 20 points, 16 of those in the second half. The Henry Clay High School graduate has now scored at least 20 points in six games this season and has earned Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors five times.
Griffin scored 15 points to lead UIC, which dropped to 8-6 overall, 5-4 in the Horizon League. The Flames won the rebounding battle by a 44-29 margin but made just 37.7 percent of their shots from the field.
Michael Diggins and Maurice Commander each scored 12 points for the Flames, who turned the ball over 16 times.
Bryson Langdon finished with 13 points for NKU, which converted 42.1 percent of its shots from the field and finished 20-for-25 at the free-throw line.
“I thought we did a good job of being on balance and drawing fouls and getting to the line,” Horn said, “and not only the number of attempts was huge, but we shot them at such a great percentage was a big key.”
NKU and UIC conclude the two-game series Saturday at 5 p.m.
Don Owen is sports editor of the Northern Kentucky Tribune. Contact him at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport.