By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the first time in seven seasons, Northern Kentucky University will end its basketball season without getting to the Horizon League semifinals in Indianapolis. The seventh-seeded Norse, after depending on their high-scoring offense to win eight of their last 10 games, could not get past the defense of the No. 2 seed Cleveland State Vikings Thursday in Cleveland in falling, 68-63.
Not that the Norse didn’t have their chances. On a night when NKU finished its season, “We just didn’t get enough finishes at the basket,” Coach Darrin Horn said on the NKU postgame show on 1530 AM.
“Our guys showed a tremendous amount of fight,” Horn said. “They (Cleveland State) dared us to go one on one and we just didn’t get enough finishes.”
And that translated into the 63 points, well below the 80.3 points NKU had been averaging the last 10 games as the Norse hit on just 22 of 64 (34 percent) from the field despite a decent 37 percent (10 of 27) from three-point range. The closer the Norse got, the worse they shot it.
Cleveland State didn’t have that problem, outscoring NKU 42-24 in the paint. Horn said he liked NKU’s chances at halftime, trailing just six – 33-27 – while shooting a dismal 28 percent. And the Norse did manage to tie it once, 40-40 with 14:14 left in the second half but were outscored 14-1 the next seven minutes and that was pretty much it.
“We just didn’t make enough plays,” Horn said while praising his team for “fighting to the finish. It’s tough to win on the road when you don’t finish,” Horn said against a Viking team that NKU had beaten, 85-75, three weeks ago at home in Truist Arena.
This was the last NKU game for fifth-year grad student Trey Robinson, who “leaves with his degree,” Horn said, and transfer grad student Josh Dilling, “who has had a big impact in the nine months he’s been here.” Seniors Sam Vinson and Keeyan Itejere both have appeals with the NCAA to play next season.
But it was junior transfer Dan Gherezgher who led the way for NKU in this one, firing in 18 points on seven-of-15 shooting including four of eight from three-point range. Itejere also reached double figures, scoring 13 on six of eight shooting with eight rebounds. Off the bench, LJ Wells contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The veteran trio of Robinson (two for nine), Vinson (two for 10) and Dilling (three for 13) struggled scoring the ball, combining for just seven for 32 shooting (21.9 percent) from the field. Vinson led NKU in assists with six.
The Norse did have a big edge scoring from outside, however, hitting on 10 threes to Cleveland State’s one (of 10) but at the free throw line, it was all CSU with a 19-9 edge, shooting 22 free throws to NKU’s 12.
SCORING SUMMARY
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 27 36—63
CLEVELAND STATE 33 35—68
Northern Kentucky (17-16): Gherezgher 7-15 4-8 0-0 18, Robinson 2-9 2-3 0-0 6, Vinson 2-10 1-4 2-2 7, Dilling 3-13 3-11 0-1 9, Itejere 6-8 0-0 1-2 13, Wells 2-8 0-0 6-7 10, Pettus 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Pivosius 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 22-64 10-27 9-12 63.
Cleveland State (21-11): Smith 4-9 0-0 8-8 16, Staveskie 2-8 0-5 2-2 6, Dibba 1-3 0-0 2-2 4, Arnett 7-14 0-0 2-4 16, Abidde 3-4 0-0 2-2 8, Stevenson 4-6 1-2 0-0 9, Franklin 1-3 0-0 0-0 2, Robinson 2-6 0-3 3-4 7, Debrick 0-0 0-0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 24-53 1-10 19-22 68.