Youngstown State faces Northern Kentucky after Dawkins’ 20-point game

By Canadian Press on January 3, 2026.

Youngstown State Penguins (8-7, 2-3 Horizon League) at Northern Kentucky Norse (11-5, 3-2 Horizon League)

Highland Heights, Kentucky; Sunday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Youngstown State visits Northern Kentucky after Bryson Dawkins scored 20 points in Youngstown State’s 85-83 loss to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.

The Norse have gone 8-2 at home. Northern Kentucky ranks fourth in the Horizon League at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 75.1 points while holding opponents to 45.0% shooting.

The Penguins have gone 2-3 against Horizon League opponents. Youngstown State averages 79.1 points and has outscored opponents by 8.8 points per game.

Northern Kentucky makes 47.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.4 percentage points higher than Youngstown State has allowed to its opponents (43.4%). Youngstown State averages 79.1 points per game, 4.0 more than the 75.1 Northern Kentucky gives up.

The Norse and Penguins square off Sunday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Dan Gherezgher Jr. is scoring 16.5 points per game and averaging 2.8 rebounds for the Norse. Kael Robinson is averaging 16.1 points and 4.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Cris Carroll averages 3.0 made 3-pointers per game for the Penguins, scoring 16.8 points while shooting 45.9% from beyond the arc. Dawkins is shooting 50.5% and averaging 11.5 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Norse: 7-3, averaging 82.2 points, 31.2 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 8.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.2 points per game.

Penguins: 6-4, averaging 76.8 points, 34.0 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.1 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press