NKU Men Halt Losing Streak At 6, Split in Michigan

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Photo courtesy of Northern Kentucky Athletics

Drop game at Detroit, then drop Oakland in O’Rena

If you were a betting man putting the easy money on the heavy favorites in this past weekend’s NKU men’s basketball games, you would have succumbed to a pair of wrecked parlays. 

On Friday night, the Norse (9-13, 4-7 HL) took on Detroit Mercy in historic Calihan Hall, looking to break a five game streak of futility that dates back to their last win on January 4 at home against Green Bay. Nearly a month had passed since their last victory celebration, and the hosting Titans (7-16, 3-9 HL) provided what looked like an encouraging opportunity for the Norse to avoid their sixth straight loss and get back on the winning track.       

The heavy underdog hosts were not exactly gracious to their visitors, handing the Norse a 68-57 battering to go along with their sixth straight loss on the season.  With the underwhelming offensive effort, the Norse secured their sixth straight game scoring 70 points of less, averaging an anemic 59.7 points per game during the losing streak. 

This level of scoring ineptitude and complete lack of offensive creativity has not been seen by a Norse men’s team since their first season at the Division I level in 2012-13 when that team averaged just 58.6 points per game while struggling to adjust to the new level of competition…however, this team does not have that team’s valid excuse.     

At the half, the Norse managed just 22 points against a Titans squad giving up nearly 75 points per game to its opponents this season.  With the Norse down by nine at the half (31-22) after shooting 0-for-9 from behind the arc doubled their efforts the second half, firing up 18 treys in an effort to draw the score closer. 

The 4-for-18 display from deep the second half (4/27 overall for a 14.8% clip) did nothing to help NKU’s cause the rest of the way out, as Detroit kept pace the second half by dominating the rebound battle (43-35).  The Titans closed the game out with an 89.5% shooting effort (17/19) from the free throw line to keep the Norse out of arm’s reach in the convincing 11-point win at home.

In the loss, the Norse were led in scoring by junior post Keeyan Itejere (12 points, 7 boards), grad student guard Josh Dilling (11 points, 3/13 from behind the arc), sophomore guard Randall Pettus II (10 points, 6 boards, 3 steals) and senior wing Trey Robinson (9 points, 9 boards, 3 assists. 

As a team, the Norse shot 79% from the charity stripe (15/19) on the night, but they just could not overcome their 30.2% shooting from the floor and the hot hand of Titans junior guard Orlando Lovejoy, who scored 19 points and snared 4 boards. 

If the crushing loss at Detroit Mercy – ranked No. 333 in Division I – seemed to represent a new low-water mark for the Norse this season, their following game Sunday on their two-game swing through Michigan proved to be the polar opposite.

The Norse travelled to Oakland University (10-14, 7-6 HL) to take on the Golden Grizzlies at the Oakland O’Rena, where the Grizzlies hold a 39-19 (67.2%) record over the past five seasons.  The Grizzlies raced out to an early 8-2 lead at the 17:26 mark and it was quickly beginning to look like “same game/different day” for the Norse.

The Norse overtook the lead (9-8) at 14:35 after Dilling assisted Robinson on a fast-break layup.  Itejere stretched the Norse lead to 6 on a thunderous dunk at 13:44 (14-8) after a fast break layup and pair of free throws by junior forward LJ Wells found their marks.  That lead ballooned to 11 points three minutes later by a deep three-pointer – also by Wells – rang true.

Oakland tied the game back up at 25-25 at 7:17 and then overtook the lead at 3:51 (30-28), and both teams took turns taking bites at the lead until Oakland went into the locker room at the half holding onto a thin 40-39 lead.

Senior guard Sam Vinson quickly snatched the lead back (41-40) for the Norse to begin the second half, and by the 16:00 mark the Norse were up by six (51-45) on the hosts.  Dilling and Pettus II took turns hitting bombs from deep a minute apart to draw the Norse advantage out to 60-49 at 12:24.  The lead blossomed to 15 (64-49) when junior transfer guard Dan Gherezgher, Jr. slashed his way to a layup in the paint at the 10:26 mark on his way to a game high 22 points on 7/14 shooting from the field.

At 8:52, Gherezgher, Jr. was fouled and slipped in two free throws to give the visitors a commanding 17 point lead (68-51).  A free throw by Dilling at 7:27 gave the Norse an 18 point lead, and the Grizzlies were only able to claw the deficit down to 9 to account for the final score at the final whistle.

The 84-75 win for the Norse gave them perhaps their most complete conference game performance of the season, and a much-needed win against the defending Horizon League champions who not only went to the NCAA Tournament last season, but also pulled off a huge 80-76 upset over #3 Kentucky before running out of steam against #11 NC State in Overtime (79-73) in the Round of 32.              

In the win, the Norse were paced by Gherezgher, Jr. (22 points – 4 boards – 6 assists to 1 turnover), Itejere (12 points – 4 boards – 2 blocks), Dilling (10 points – 4 boards – 5 assists), Pettus II (14 points – 3 boards – 3 steals), Wells (10 points – 5 boards), Robinson (8 points – 6 boards – 3 assists – 2 steals) and a sensational night at the point from Vinson, who scored 8 points and notched 7 assists with no turnovers while adding 2 steals to his growing tally.

The More You NK(U) Know:

In the win over Oakland, the Norse made drastic improvements in several areas…

  • Fast Break Points:  NKU 16, Oakland 8
  • Point in the Paint:  NKU 32, Oakland 24
  • Rebounds:  NKU 33, Oakland 31
  • Points Off Turnovers:  NKU 25, Oakland 12
  • Behind the Arc:  12/32 (37.5%)
  • From the Line:  16/20 (80%)

Head Coach Darrin Horn is starting to give more and more playing time to Gherezgher, Jr. who is starting to find his shot and his place on the court.  This bodes well for Vinson, who can continue to focus on setting the team offense up, running the point and helping the Norse control the ball more effectively.  While Itejere fouled out of the Oakland game after just 23 minutes on the court, it gave Wells a chance to step up and prove he can be the player Horn needed him to be coming into this season.

Coming up next, the Norse host conference leader Cleveland State on Wednesday, February 5 at NKU’s Truist Arena.  The Vikings have won 13 straight games, currently sit at 17-6 (11-1 HL) and give the Norse a very real chance to prove whether the big win over Oakland was a fluke or a sign that they can continue to make adjustments to win tough games down the stretch.  The 7:00pm EST clash will be available on both the ESPN+ app as well as FoxSports 1360 AM radio.

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