Winter break is in full swing for most students at NKU, but the men’s basketball team had one final test before the holiday, as the Bulldogs of South Carolina State made their way to town on Saturday. 

NKU was looking to stay hot in this winter weather as they were going for their fifth win in a row and to remain perfect in their four game homestand. 

The offense was present and strong to start the game as a Randall Pettus II three pointer and Keeyan Itejere layup would put the Norse up 5-0 in a blink. Pettus II would then exchange three point baskets with Jordan Simpson who put in a pair of perimeter makes. A Raquan Brown floater would then tie things up.

The action was non-stop as the first media timeout would not happen until six minutes into the game, which came right after a frontcourt connection between Itejere and LJ Wells gave NKU a 10-8 lead on a layup. 

The next stretch would be much more defense-focused. A collection of free throw exchanges would pair with a Pettus II contested layup, only to be answered by three pointers from Michael Teal and Omar Croskey for the Bulldogs. This run would be capped off by a Simpson steal and slam to give the Bulldogs a 19-14 lead with eight minutes left in the half. 

The exciting offense would not stop there. The Bulldogs would start the scoring again with an alley-oop from Davion Everett to Caleb McCarty. The Bulldogs would attempt to press off the made basket but it was broken with good passing and a Jeremiah Israel three pointer. Pettus II would continue the run with his second steal of the game that led to a Trey Robinson score. Robison would score again off an inbounds play to give the Norse a slim 23-22 lead.

More three pointers would roll in as Teal and Wilson Dubinsky would find the bottom of the net, along with Robinson for NKU. Robinson would then find himself open for a fast break dunk. Another Dubinsky three and Sam Vinson floater would send NKU to the last break of the first half trailing by one. 

Free throws and a three pointer would close out a competitive half that had five ties and four lead changes. The advantage went to the Bulldogs as they held a one point lead going into the locker room. 

The scoring to start the second half for NKU would come from the veterans, as a Robinson reverse layup preceded a Sam Vinson layup through traffic. The Bulldogs would match NKU with Croskey free throws and a Drayton Jones layup to send NKU into the first break of the half up only 39-38. 

NKU would then find separation thanks to a Robinson contested layup and hook shot, along with an Itejere block at the summit of the rim on Jones that led to a Vinson three pointer to give the Norse a 46-39 lead. 

The Bulldogs would answer with jumpers of their own, but NKU would not waver as Trey Robinson would continue to shine with a layup and show stopping behind the back pass to big man Paulius Rapolis for an easy score. The deficit would prove too big to overcome as a Vinson turnaround midrange jumper would give NKU a 58-47 lead that would be the final tally on the day to finish their homestand undefeated and improve their win streak to five games.

NKU head coach Darrin Horn praised the second half defense that didn’t allow a three point make and held the Bulldogs to a mere 13 points after halftime. 

“I think our guys did a better job of locking in on, not only who the shooters are, but how we want to take away threes,” Horn said. 

The Norse improved to 7-6 on the season with the win and will get a week of holiday rest before heading to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, to play conference foe Robert Morris next Sunday. The tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.