CSU Falters to Start the Conference Season, Drops Games to Northern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy

CSU (3-6) completely tripped coming out of the starting gate to begin Horizon League play, but there are some explainable reasons. 

Injuries, illness, and a brand-new team all contributed to two lackluster games to begin conference play.

Away Game at Northern Kentucky (6-2) on December 3rd

With Josiah Harris still out and Dayan Nessah out with an illness, the Vikings were down two of their starters yet again. A lineup of Tre Beard, David Giddens, Jaidon Lipscomb, Priest Ryan, and Holden Pierre-Louis took the floor instead.

The Norse came out hot. They hit their first four threes and, combined with a few turnovers and fouls, the Vikings were already on their heels. After just five minutes, CSU was down 16-5 and looking for answers on offense and defense. 

A fast break layup by Ryan slowed the ascent of NKU as the Vikings scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to four. Another Norse three (three seconds after a Beard three) put it back up to seven but the Vikings were at least back in the game. 

NKU stretched the lead to ten a few times and never let the Vikings get the score within a few possessions before a pair of free throws and a basket put the lead up to 14.

Both teams traded points down the stretch (including Lipscomb draining all three free throws after being fouled), but the 14-point lead would hold going into the locker room. NKU 47-CSU 33.

A different Vikings team came out to start the half. A 14-2 run by the Vikings had the game within a single possession within 3 and a half minutes. This run was punctuated by eight points by Giddens. 

Just over two minutes later, Lipscomb sank three free throws again and suddenly the Vikings were leading by one. Alas, the Norse quickly tied it up and then took the lead on their own free throws.

CSU continued to match NKU until the 10-minute mark. A three, a steal, a dunk, and two free throws (due to a technical foul) had the deficit back up to ten and the Vikings had run out of gas. 

A 15-1 run put the game out of reach at 77-60. CSU had one last push with under two minutes to go and cut the lead back to seven, but the Norse made the free throws they needed to and the Vikings were unable to score again. 

NKU scored the last eight points to win 95-80.

Key Takeaways:

1. Obviously being without two starters is going to be difficult, but a bright spot the last few games has been Lipscomb. He led the way for the Vikings with 23 points (14-for-15 at the foul line). He needs to continue to be more careful with the ball (four turnovers to only one assist), but his ability to score is starting to peek through.
2. Tre Beard is one of the best three-point shooters CSU has ever had. He went 6-for-8 from three and finished with 20 points. Getting him back from injury was huge for the offense. After the Northern Kentucky game, head coach Rob Summers mentioned how other teams are starting to play Beard closer. “He’s wearing himself out a little bit because people are sitting in double teams and triple teams and I would do the same thing.”
3. Overall, the Vikings’ good three-point shooting finally showed its face. They went 14-for-25 in the game (56%!). They only shot 45.8% overall, so they shot considerably better from three. Giddens was a huge part, going 4-for-5.
4. New game, same issue. CSU lost the battle in the paint 40 points to 16. Even with their great shooting from deep, this discrepancy was impossible to overcome. 
5. On top of the issues in the paint, the Vikings lost the turnover battle as well. They finished with 20 (on which the Norse scored 26 points) and Northern Kentucky had 14 (on which the Vikings scored 16 points). Every starter had at least two turnovers. You can’t win if you can’t take care of the ball. This disparity plus having less rebounds led to the Norse getting 13 more shots on the game, which led to more points.

Home Game Against Detroit Mercy on December 6th

With everyone finally healthy, the Vikings started a different starting five of Lipscomb, Beard, Nessah, Ryan, and Pierre-Louis. 

Right from the start, CSU looked better offensively as Nessah started the scoring after a steal with a quick basket.

Ryan added a two and then a three (his first of the season) before Harris added a three of his own after coming off the bench. The first six minutes of the game saw barely any whistles, and the under-eight minute timeout didn’t occur until the 14:11 mark. By then, the Vikings held a slim 12-9 lead. 

A Beard three would be the only scoring before the second media timeout as the Vikings saw themselves ahead 15-9. This was when things started to take a bad turn for CSU. 

An 8-1 run by the Titans saw them jump out to a 17-16 lead right at the nine-minute mark, and the Vikings had completely stalled on offense.

Both teams had scored only 19 points by the under-eight minute timeout and the Vikings were stuck looking for answers. 

Although CSU was winning the battle on the boards, Detroit Mercy was running and getting to the basket much more often than CSU. Another Titan run had the score at 28-22 with under four minutes to go in the half. 

CSU closed this gap to three points with a few seconds to go in half but a long outlet pass and layup by Orlando Lovejoy gave the Titans a 36-31 lead at halftime.

A quick basket by Lipscomb to start the half got the deficit back to three, but former Viking Tyler Spratt equaled the bucket with his own. Another Lovejoy bucket followed by TJ Nadeau’s millionth three of the game suddenly had the gap up to ten points. 

Beard continued his good shooting this season with a three but the Titans hit another from deep and kept piling it on. 

Harris followed this up with a classic three-point play and Emery hit a true three-pointer, but the Vikings were not able to capitalize on the Titans slowing down on offense. 

For four minutes, Detroit Mercy didn’t score a point, but the Vikings only scored on the Emery three. Within that time Harris came down awkwardly on his ankle again, but he returned later. 

Turnovers by the Vikings and good shooting by the Titans created an insurmountable lead for Detroit Mercy that peaked at 18 points with about seven minutes to go. 

At this point, with almost no hope of winning left, the Vikings started to play fast and confident. They actually got the deficit down to seven with three minutes to go, but the comeback wasn’t enough. 

The final score sat at 71-59 and the Vikings dropped to 0-2 in the Horizon League.

Key Takeaways:

1. 59 points is not going to win a ton of games with the way the Vikings defend. They were outscored 32-18 in the paint and just can’t seem to stop teams from getting inside while also being unable to get inside themselves.
2. CSU and Detroit Mercy both put up 58 shots, but they were very different shots. The Vikings missed a lot of close range shots while also having long possessions and rushed shots throughout most of the 20 minutes in the middle of the game. They need to be more confident and take open shots earlier in the shot clock. Summers thinks this is definitely possible. “Sometimes we are just really focusing on one or two dribbles and getting off of it,” he remarked.
3. Ryan finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive). He continues to shine since the Harris injury. He only committed one foul, but had four turnovers. He needs to clean up some stuff, but overall, he’s been a key piece of the team lately. “He could be somebody that’s a focal point for helping our team kind of stay together,” Summers said. 
4. Injuries and sickness have ravaged the team so far. Harris went 2-for-11 and Nessah was 1-for-7. The Vikings need both to perform to win, so both coming back and clearly having to shake off some rust wasn’t fun. “I think it’s tough[…] to get Jo Jo [Harris] and [Nessah]  back and get them back in the rhythm,” mentioned Summers.
5. The way the Vikings played when they got down by 18 is the way they need to play all game. They were decisive and unscared. They made passes and put up shots. They need to be unafraid to make mistakes. Right now, they are playing like every possession is too important. “We just let different things affect us on different sides of the ball, and I’m just trying to get them to have quick, short-term memories. You know, be a goldfish.” The Horizon League will not have any cakewalk games. Summers briefly spoke about this post-game as well. “That’s the part about it. The parity is unbelievable. Anybody can lose and anybody can win every single game.”

Next up for the Vikings:

CSU (3-8, 0-2 Horizon League) plays NAIA Oakland City University at Woodling Gymnasium next Sunday at 2 PM.