The Northern Kentucky Norse hosted the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Wednesday night in an attempt to secure their third straight win and to climb the standings over PFW who entered the night a game ahead in the conference standings. The first half was ultra-competitive, and the second half was much of the same, but 23 second half points for LJ Wells helped propel the Norse to a 87-71 victory in the last home game before Senior Night.
The game began with the teams trading layups and three point baskets. A Dan Gherezgher three and Donovan Oday layup gave the Norse a slim three point lead as the first break in action didn’t occur until nearly five and a half minutes in. Ethan Elliot added a highlight reel fake and layup before Kael Robinson scored his first points since being injured on February 1st. Three of the next four baskets were courtesy of the visiting team as Darius Duffy capped off the run with a slam over the outstretched hands of Wells that gave the Mastodons the lead.
Deandre Craig, Jr. and Corey Hadnot II continued the momentum for PFW with a pair of triples that pushed the lead to five and forced a Northern Kentucky timeout. The Norse responded with an 8-2 run fueled by perimeter shots from Tae Dozier and Robinson that gave NKU the lead back. Another Robinson triple sent the Mastodons into a timeout of their own as the first half was down to the final four minutes.
Wells and Oday combined for eight of the final 11 points of the half for the home team as the defensive started to find its footing, only allowing one field goal over the last four minutes as NKU led 42-33 going into halftime. Northern Kentucky finished the half with seven steals and that impressed NKU head coach Darrin Horn a great deal.
“Defensively we were as good as we’ve been all year in terms of being aggressive to the basketball…our guys were really locked into defending at a high level.” Horn said.
The first half for the Norse was about balanced scoring. Seven of the nine players to check in for NKU were able to get in on the scoring. For the visiting team, they were led by the Horizon League’s leading scorer Hadnot, who finished the opening half with 15 points and was the only player with double digits at the break.
The Norse couldn’t create much separation in the first half in part because of a lack of free throws. They only attempted four in the first half. Wells made sure to change that with two early and-one opportunities. Craig responded for the Mastodons with seven points of his own in the early minutes of the final half. The Norse were not bothered as they followed with a 10-3 run as Wells and Robinson notched every point in the run to give NKU their biggest lead of the game at 62-48.
PFW made sure they were not going away quietly. Layups and free throws sparked a 8-0 run for the visitors that prompted another timeout from Horn. NKU had gone extremely cold as they went on a four minute scoreless stretch that was finally ended on an Ethan Elliot fast break layup. The end of the scoring drought also ended the hopes for a comeback as Northern Kentucky did not allow the game to get closer than five points for the rest of the contest on the way to the win.
Horn said a big reason for that was the balanced scoring he saw. Seven different Norse players were able to connect on a three pointer. Wells added that coach Horn always reminds them that the best part of the team is that they are a team.
The Norse fixed the free throw issue from the first half as they attempted 15 in the second half. They also got a big contribution from Robinson who had 11 points in his first game back, despite only seeing one day of live action practice before his return.
The two largest factors were Dozier who had 15 rebounds after he said he was challenged in practice leading up to the game to be aggressive and stay on the boards. Wells led the charge for NKU offensively as he tallied 23 second half points. He said he knew he could lead his team because of his preparation and the support that he continues to get.
“Doing it in practice and trust that the coaches give me. That freedom definitely gives me the confidence to go out and do it. Also my teammates pushing me in practice as well. It really translates when the lights are on,” Wells said.
NKU secured its third straight victory and PFW’s struggles in February continue as they move to 1-4 this month. NKU moves into 6th in the Horizon League standings at 9-8 in conference and 17-11 overall. NKU will look to improve their standings and position for the upcoming conference tournament on Sunday when they travel to take on the Youngstown State Penguins. The game will tip-off at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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