2026 has been a great time for Green Bay Phoenix fans, as neither team had lost this calendar year heading into the weekend’s games. While things may not have gone as positively for the professional football team across the river, the Green Bay men were able to keep to the winning ways of Phoenix basketball after a clean sweep of their weekend opponents, taking down IU-Indy and Northern Kentucky over the weekend.
Coming off the heels of a hard-fought win over in-state rival Milwaukee, the Phoenix were able to enjoy some home cooking over the weekend, starting with a Friday night contest against IU-Indianapolis at the friendly confines of the Kress Center.
The two teams traded baskets to open the game, with the Jaguars holding a slim lead early, but went into the first media break tied at five. The squads remained tightly matched through the under-12 stoppage with the Jaguars in front courtesy of an Aidan Miller three pointer before the stoppage. Out of the media timeout, LeBron Thomas knocked down a pair of free throws, and Preston Ruedinger connected on a long ball to put the Phoenix in front for the first time since scoring the contest’s opening bucket. The lead would be short lived as IU-Indy would tie the game back up on the ensuing possession by splitting a trip to the free throw line.
Rob Stroud put Green Bay back in front but was quickly answered once again on IU-Indy’s next trip down the floor. Things remained tight through the final media break of the half, when the Phoenix closed the opening stanza on a 13-0 run led by Thomas, Ruedinger, CJ O’Hara and Marcus Hall, each scoring to help close the half with a 38-24 halftime advantage.
Ruedinger and O’Hara both scored to open the second half, as Green Bay worked to start the second on a faster note than it did against Milwaukee in their previous game. The Jaguars weren’t going to go away easily, but the Phoenix had a response for each time IU Indy tried to claw back in the game. Justin Allen hit a layup to put the Phoenix up by 21, setting the largest lead it would hold in the game, but Maguire Mitchell hit back to back threes for the Jaguars to close the gap.
Ruedinger led a Green Bay response, scoring a layup and hitting a pair of triples to hold off the rally. Just before the under-eight timeout in the second half, O’Hara put the Phoenix back up by 20 with a tip-in, putting the Phoenix firmly in control of the contest. The Jaguars closed the gap late, shrinking Green Bay’s lead down to 10 points at 66 to 56, but that would be as close as IU-Indy got, as O’Hara hit a three and the Phoenix used that bucket to spark a 9-3 advantage to close the game with a 75 to 59 win. Ruedinger led all scorers with 24 points in the game, with Thomas adding 16, and O’Hara dropping 14 points to round out double digit scorers for Green Bay.
The pace started a lot faster for the Phoenix on Sunday, when Green Bay hosted the Northern Kentucky Norse at the Kress Center. Caden Wilkins splashed a three ball after the opening tip, followed by buckets by Allen hitting back to back layups to open up a 7-0 advantage. LJ Wells got a shot to get the Norse on the board, but was immediately answered by another Wilkins long ball. Ruedinger picked up where he left off with another three as part of a 16-2 run to open the game. Three balls kept falling for the Phoenix throughout the half, with Hall and Wilkins continuing the onslaught for Green Bay. All in all, the Phoenix hit eight three pointers in the first half, good for a 51 to 35 halftime lead.
Green Bay was able to build the lead back to 19 points in the second half, as Allen hit a three and O’Hara made a layup. The Norse battled back though, slowly working their way back into the game with their own long range shooting. Donovan Oday led a major Northern Kentucky rally throughout the half, largely doing his work from behind the arc.
Kael Robinson, LJ Wells and Oday each hit a three on a nine to zero run to shrink the Phoenix lead down to just four points. Ruedinger and Allen stepped up in the closing minutes to stem the tide and give Green Bay a bit of breathing room late in the game. Wells hit a pair of free throws prior to Donovan Rakotonanahary making a layup, cutting the lead to just two points at 80 to 78. Green Bay bled as much clock as it could, before an Allen three pointer missed and gave the Norse a chance to tie the game or take the lead. To make things worse, Hall committed a foul, sending Wells to the charity stripe with a chance to tie the game. Both attempts were offline, but the Norse got an offensive rebound — then gave the ball back to Green Bay after Robinson was called for traveling. The Phoenix, still in one-and-one bonus shots, missed a free throw off the hand of Allen, but Wilkins fought for the offensive board and drew another Norse foul. He also missed the front end free throw, but thankfully for Green Bay, both shots in the final seconds missed and gave the Phoenix another win. Oday’s 31 points for NKU led all scorers, but Allen’s 27 points, aided by 17 from Wilkins and 13 from Hall, led Green Bay.
Green Bay moves to second place in the league, tied with Oakland, behind Wright State. The Phoenix will be back on the road Thursday, squaring off against former Phoenix Foster Wonders and the Cleveland State Vikings. Tipoff from the Wolstein Center is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
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