Staff photo / John Vargo YSU’s Donel Cathcart III (13) and Devin Morgan, right, trap Northern Kentucky’s Bryson Langdon.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Youngstown State played well for the better part of the first 14 minutes Thursday night, closing out driving lanes and limiting 3-point opportunities.

But Northern Kentucky eventually exerted its dominance once again — the same Norse team that won the Horizon League tournament title two of the last three years. Northern Kentucky ran roughshod over YSU at the BB&T Arena, 88-63.

Northern Kentucky guard Tyler Sharpe drove the lane and was taken to the ground by two YSU players, no foul. He made the lay-up and his team led by more than 20 points. Sharpe quickly got up and ran down the floor with about six minutes remaining.

Sharpe, a 6-foot guard, had a game-high 33 points. Trevon Faulkner, a 6-3 guard, added 22 for the Norse. Jalen Tate had 11, while Bryson Langdon added 10.

The Norse (13-6, 5-2 Horizon League) have won four straight since dropping their league opener against Detroit Mercy. YSU (11-8, 4-2) saw a two-game winning streak snapped and has yet to win at Northern Kentucky.

Devin Morgan’s 3-pointer with 6:44 left in the first half tied the game at 23. From there, NKU outscored the Penguins 25-6 the remainder of the half. The Norse led 48-29 at halftime.

YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said earlier in the week the game against NKU and Saturday’s contest at Wright State were opportunities. On Thursday, the Penguins did not capitalize as they suffered their worst loss of the season.

“That team played great basketball,” Calhoun said of NKU. “We’ve been blown out by Central Michigan, Akron and now Northern Kentucky. The theme is they’re all guard-oriented teams. We’ve got to do a better job with our scouting reports. We’ve got to do a better job with our prep. You don’t point the finger at everybody. You’ve got to point it at yourself as head coach. It goes right back to myself. I’ve got to do a better job getting these guys ready to play Saturday night.”

NKU shot 30 of 59 from the floor, 11 of 27 from 3-point range and 17 of 19 from the foul line. YSU was 20 of 60 from the floor, 5 of 18 from 3-point range and 18 of 29 from the line.

“Those kids are hard to guard,” Calhoun said. “This is a program that has a great body of work. You can’t let good teams get going on the road. They’re a hard guard. They’ve got four guards out there that can create for others off the bounce. They shoot it. They can pass it.

“Really hard match-up. That’s even going to be a hard match-up for us the second time around because of their guards. Their guards are really, really good.”

Garrett Covington led the Penguins with 17 points, the only Penguin in double figures. Morgan and Naz Bohannon each had eight points, while Darius Quisenberry and Michael Akuchie each had seven.

Olmaide Petersen played center for the Penguinsand had six points and nine rebounds, but was 2 of 6 from the foul line. He’s had two broken bones in his hands in his first two seasons with the Penguins.

“I thought the kid played hard throughout practice all week,” Calhoun said. “I rewarded him. He missed a lot of free throws, but he doesn’t have many games under his belt. He needs time to mature. He needs time to get better. He’s been out so long with that injury.”

The team will spend time today breaking down film and practicing for Saturday’s game at Wright State. Tipoff at the Nutter Center is at 7 p.m.

“Our offense was very stagnant,” Calhoun said. “They had a lot to do with it. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves because we play in (less than) 48 hours.

“You’re playing a team that’s really, really good on Saturday night. We’ve got to learn from this, not dwell on this.”