Gold & Black sweep season series over conference leader Phoenix
The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team may very well be the ultimate example of a paradox. If not a paradox, at the very least a living, breathing rollercoaster ride.
Wednesday night the Norse waltzed into Green Bay’s Resch Center on a two-game win streak…which followed a three-game losing streak…which was preceded by a three-game win streak. In a game that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes, Head Coach Darrin Horn’s squad did just enough to plunder the Phoenix on their home turf and escape with a 58-57 victory.
The final one-point margin seemed appropriate for the occasion, seeing as the two teams – not quite sharing the same record on the season or spot in the conference standings – are so strikingly similar in overall quality and talent yet so profoundly different at the same time. Mirror images of each other…that is, if said mirrors were stationed in a smoky carnival fun house.
How close in talent are these two squads right now?
- The game was decided by the thinnest conceivable margin, and in the last 5 seconds
- Both teams had 61 possessions
- Their field goal percentages were a few hairs apart from each other (NKU 37.7%, GB 35.2%)
- Both teams shot under 30% from behind the arc
- Free throw production was nearly identical (NKU 12/17, GB 12/16)
- Team rebounds were locked at 35 each
- Defensive rebounds: 27 each
- Offensive rebounds: 8 each
- Personal fouls were nearly deadlocked (NKU 17, GB 16)
- 12 lead changes, 7 ties
- Neither team led by more than 10 points
Very similar numbers, yet the way the teams go about their approach can be markedly different. While the Norse pounded the paint and opted for higher percentage shots, the Phoenix chose to trust their stingy defense and gamble a bit more on offense, letting the ball fly from deep early and often.
The Phoenix launched 32 shots from behind the arc, but only hit pay dirt on 7 of those. Conversely, the Norse put trust in their ground game and outscored the home team down low in the paint, 28-18.
Even though the Phoenix (17-10, 12-4 HL) sit atop the conference standings and are in line for the conference tournament’s coveted top seed, the Norse (14-12, 9-6 HL), who swept the Phoenix Wednesday after drubbing the visiting Phoenix by 22 in Highland Heights on January 20, are several rungs down the ladder in a fourth place tie with Wright State. Green Bay may be the best in the league right now, but after winning three straight, NKU is climbing the standings the fastest.
The Horizon League foes went toe to toe and blow for blow for 40 minutes, and as the script demanded, the game came down to the final possession.
In the final possession for the Norse, senior guard Marques Warrick dexterously skated his way through traffic on his way to the basket with just :05 left on the clock, hitting an awkward layup off the glass to give his team the final lead.
The Norse all-time scoring leader only had seven points on the night, but ultimately he scored the only two that mattered.
“I don’t care if Marques Warrick missed every single shot he’s taken the whole game, he has earned the right to have the ball in that situation,” Coach Horn said after the game. “That young man is a champion and he is all about winning, there was nothing else we were gonna do. Besides, if we called a timeout and call a play, we were just gonna give the ball back to him anyway and that allows the other team to set their defense.”
The Phoenix required multiple timeouts and inbounds plays to inch their way up the court, only to come up short on their final look at the basket. With a missed step-back jumper at the buzzer by conference Player of the Year candidate Noah Reynolds, the Norse were able to pack up their bags and jump on the bus to Milwaukee for their next must-win matchup in Wisconsin.
As alluded to above, Warrick struggled at times to get his shots to drop on his way to a 3-of-13 night from the field. But thankfully for the Norse, they have some young players who have continued to evolve over the course of the season and lift their game up to the point where the team can afford an off night by its leading scorer and still pull down some crucial wins.
Of note, freshman guard Randall Pettus II continues to eat up more and more minutes each game, and is making significant contributions whenever he takes the court.
“To be honest with you, we didn’t expect to get this (production) out of him,” Horn said. “I knew he was gifted athletically and that he could score, but could he do it in the framework of the role that he needs to be in on our team… We need him to score for sure, but he’s focused on not turning the ball over and being a great defender and doing all the little things that you need a guy coming off the bench to do. I can’t say enough good things about Randall and how he plays.”
Deets From the Hardwood:
- Sophomore post Keeyan Itejere: 12 points – 4 boards – 3 steals – 5/6 from the field – The Marquette transfer was featured at #4 on ESPN SportsCenter’s nightly “Top 10” with his alley-oop two-handed slam dunk over a defender off of a baseline inbounds pass
- Sophomore forward LJ Wells: 13 points – 9 boards – 4/7 from the field
- Freshman guard Randall Pettus II: 10 points – 6 boards – 4 assists
- Senior wing Trey Robinson: 9 points – 8 boards – 2 assists
- Senior guard Ques Warrick: 7 points – 1 board
- Grad point guard Michael Bradley: 5 points – 2 boards – 4 assists to 0 turnovers
The More NK(U) Know:
- Warrick is 5th in the Horizon League in scoring at 18.7 points per game – he leads the HL in free throws made at 122, and is tied for 3rd in the HL in free throw percentage at 85.3% – he is 9th in the HL in treys made per game at 2.0
- Robinson is 7th in the HL in rebounding at 6.4 rebounds per game – he is also 2nd in the HL in steals at 1.7 steals per game
- Bradley leads the HL in assists with 119 at 4.6 assists per game – he is also tied for 5th in the HL with 1.4 steals per game
- Itejere is 2nd in the HL in blocks with 47 at 1.8 blocks per game – if he had enough qualifying shot attempts per game, he would lead the HL in field goal percentage at 68%….next closest leader would be at 54.8%
- Warrick (2nd) and Bradley (9th) are both in the top 10 in the HL in minutes played per game. Warrick averages 35.6 mpg, and Bradley 32.9
The Norse have five games left on the regular season schedule, five opportunities to move up into the top four in the conference. At this point, each game is a season in and of itself where the Norse look to finish 1-0 each time out. Of the five remaining contests, all but one (minus Wright State) are against opponents that sit below them in the conference standings. Despite some periods of struggle throughout the season, the Norse still have a chance at yet another 20-win campaign.
Next Up:
2/17/24: NKU @ Milwaukee Panthers (13-13, 8-7 HL) – 8:00pm EST
- The Panthers are 8-3 at home this season, but have lost two of their last three games
- HL Player of the Year candidate BJ Freeman (Jr. – 6’6” – Wing) is a sensational all-around player and leads the squad with 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game
