Northern Kentucky, Cleveland State Secure Spots in 2023 Barbasol #HLMBB Championship
INDIANAPOLIS - Neither higher seed held Monday night in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky held off top seed Youngstown State and No. 3 Cleveland State eliminated No. 2 Milwaukee. NKU and CSU advance to Tuesday’s final, a 7 p.m. ET tip on ESPN.
No. 4 Northern Kentucky 75, No. 1 Youngstown State 63
No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky scored the first big upset of the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship in Monday’s early semifinal with a 75-63 win over top seed Youngstown State. NKU moves on to Tuesday’s tournament final for the fifth time in seven years.
Marques Warrick scored 22 points while Sam Vinson scored 17 points and Chris Brandon grabbed 17 rebounds. All-Lleague players Adrian Nelson and Dwayne Cohill scored 17 and 16, respectively, for Youngstown State. NKU, the top defensive scoring team in the League, had a 21-5 edge in points off turnovers and made 28 free throws compared to YSU’s 11.
“We knew it would be a tough game coming in, we have a tremendous amount of respect for Youngstown State,” Northern Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn said. “Our guys did the things we needed to do to play well. We were aggressive at both ends. A big factor in the game was how often we got to the free throw line and how we shot it there.”
NKU built a big lead behind Warrick, who scored 16 in the first half as the Norse led 40-25 at halftime. Northern Kentucky committed only one turnover and held Youngstown State to just nine made field goals and five three throws to take command of the game.
Youngstown State (24-9) rallied after NKU reached a 22-point advantage early in the second half, and YSU largely controlled the second period. A 16-5 YSU run cut the deficit to 52-41 with 8:21 left on an acrobatic, driving left-handed scoop by Cohill.
Youngstown State continued to be the aggressor and was within 57-53 when Warrick played his role as the closer. NKU’s star guard hadn’t scored for 17 minutes of game time - a key factor in YSU’s comeback - but he scored six points in a span of 1:26 to put NKU back up double digits.
“I had a great start but in the second half I really wasn’t involved,” Warrick said. “They were making a comeback and my teammates look to me to step up offensively.”
A 10-4 run highlighted by Warrick’s plays put the game away, and a dunk by Brandon provided the night’s exclamation point.
Northern Kentucky (21-12) is 3-1 in the Horizon League final, and played in the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2019. Youngstown State will go to the NIT as the League’s auto bid, its first NIT appearance in school history.
No. 3 Cleveland State 93, No. 2 Milwaukee 80
No. 2 Milwaukee beat No. 3 Cleveland State twice in the regular season but CSU won when it mattered in Monday’s late semifinal as the Vikings ran past Milwaukee 93-80 to advance to Tuesday’s championship game. Cleveland State is making its fifth appearance in the League final and third in the last six years.
Cleveland State (21-12) literally ran past Milwaukee, building a 46-28 halftime lead behind a staggering 25-9 advantage in fast break points. The rout continued from there, with the lead growing to 62-34 just four minutes into the second half.
Tristan Enaruna led Cleveland State with 24 points and eight rebounds with Tae Williams adding 18 points and seven rebounds. Milwaukee’s Jalen Johnson scored 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting.
“It was a total team effort. The way Milwaukee handled us the last two games, our guys came out with an edge,” Cleveland State head coach Daniyal Robinson said. “I’m really proud of how we came out playing together and implementing the gameplan. Everybody that came in brought something to the table tonight.”
Milwaukee, which ranks 17th nationally in offensive tempo, played its preferred fast and aggressive style to get within 75-66 with 6:07 left in the game. CSU answered with a 10-2 run that included a technical foul on the Milwaukee bench that erased any doubt.
“The tempo was dictated by their press, and we wanted to be aggressive against their press. The way they play, they try to wear you down,” Robinson said. “We took what they gave us. And we turned them over and were able to score.”
Cleveland State ended with a 32-11 edge in transition points and scored 93 points while only making four 3-pointers. The offensive output for Cleveland State was a season best and the highest mark in a regulation game against a Division I opponent since scoring 97 in a game in November 2003.
Milwaukee (21-11) could potentially play again as postseason assignments come out later this month. The Panthers’ 21 wins this year was one more than the previous two seasons combined, a big jump for first-year coach Bart Lundy.
“I’m proud of our group. We had 13 new guys, zero corporate knowledge. I had people tell me it’s an impossible job when I got here,” Lundy said. “These 17 guys had some faith and came together in Milwaukee and hopefully we’ve laid the foundation for great things moving forward. It was an honor to coach this group.”