In a semifinal game where the lead changed several times and the score remained close on many occasions, Northern Kentucky came out with the intensity and pressure needed to go head-to-head with the No. 1 seed Wright State. Despite giving Wright State a hard time, Northern Kentucky fell 103-90, their tournament run ending just one win short of the championship game.
Northern Kentucky set the tone and pace of the game scoring the first points with a three-pointer from forward Kael Robinson and immediately put pressure on Wright State as they were inbounded the ball. Wright State kept answering regardless of Northern Kentucky’s defense, closing the gap time and time again. Robinson dominated the first quarter with 19 points, followed by forward LJ Wells with nine points and guard Dan Gherezgher with seven.
The Norse had the lead until the final two minutes of the first period, when a layup from a Wright State player tied the game. After that, the lead kept changing, and when Robinson scored another three-point shot it appeared the teams would head into halftime tied. However, a layup from Wright State guard TJ Burch with four seconds remaining ended the first half with Wright State leading 46-44. Northern Kentucky shot 50% from the field (14 of 28), 50% from the three-point range (5 of 10), and 73% from the free throw line (11 of 15) in the first half.
“We were telling each other to be aggressive, but we felt like we were playing good defense at times, but I feel like there were little mistakes that we were having.” guard Donovan Oday said.
Just as they had done in the first half, Northern Kentucky came out strong with Oday making a three-pointer to put his team within one point of Wright State. The team continued to apply pressure and took the lead back, but it wasn’t until the 14-minute mark that the Raiders would tie the game 58-58. From that point on, the momentum shifted decisively in their favor and the Norse struggled to respond, as missed shots, costly turnovers, and foul trouble added to their problems. They were not able to recapture the lead and their championship hopes came to an end as a missed three-pointer from guard Tae Dozier gave Wright State the possession, who then ran out the clock to seal the 103-90 victory.
The Norse shot 45.3% from the field (29 of 64), 39.1% from three (9 of 23) and 76.7% from the free throw line (23 of 30). Robinson led the way for Northern Kentucky with 24 points on an efficient 6-11 from the field, 4-6 from the three, and 8-10 from the line, while Wells added 23 points and Oday chipped in 15 to round out the top scorers. Although the Norse lost the turnover battle, they did manage to win the rebound battle, outrebounding Wright State 36-31. They were particularly dominant on the offensive glass, securing 15 offensive rebounds compared to just six for Wright State, converting those extra possessions into 25 second-chance points.
“Really proud of the guys…we had some injuries with great basketball down the stretch, but we came out really ready to play tonight,” Head Coach Darrin Horn said. “The biggest basketball thing from the game is that we just didn’t take care of the ball well, too many turnovers that led to bad stuff.”
Despite the disappointing end to their season, Northern Kentucky will look to remain a contender heading into next year. The team will face some roster uncertainty however, as they could lose up to six players to graduation. That said, the program has shown improvement year over year and if that trend continues, there is plenty of reason for optimism as they look ahead to the next season.
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