The NKU men’s basketball team ended their 2023-24 season in Indianapolis Monday night with the Horizon League semi-finals against Milwaukee.

They started the first half strong, leading from the start with a rebound basket from sophomore LJ Wells. Their defense dominated the Panthers and they pulled away to a 36-21 lead.

Following some missed rebounds and controversial foul calls, Milwaukee regained some momentum towards the end of the first half and narrowed their deficit to 38-31.

The Panthers came out firing in the second half and took the lead for the first time in the game with 12 minutes remaining.

Senior Marques Warrick scored four points for the Norse all game, being heavily defended.

A standout player for the Norse was senior Trey Robinson who led the night in scoring with 33 points. He also led NKU in rebounds alongside graduate student Michael Bradley, with nine rebounds.

The end of the season saw three Norse players receive Horizon League honors.

Robinson was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year as well as All-Defensive team. The guard averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the season.

Warrick was selected for the Horizon All-League First Team and was awarded the Horizon’s Sportsmanship Award. The senior averaged 20 points, two rebounds and one steal. He ended his time at NKU as all-time leading point scorer.

Freshman Randall Pettus II was named to the Horizon All-Freshman team, averaging five points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist. The guard stepped up this season and was named freshman of the week twice.

Head Coach Darrin Horn will lose two valuable starters in Warrick and Robinson. Sam Vinson will enter his senior year in a leadership role, as the team will need to rebuild.

The Horizon League final will see Oakland take on Milwaukee Tuesday night at 7 p.m in Indianapolis with the game broadcast on ESPN+.