By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
The beat goes on. Six straight for the Northern Kentucky Norse including Wednesday night’s Horizon Conference opener against an outmatched Cleveland State team at Truist Arena.
And now we know some things about this international, mostly-new-to-one-another NKU team that closed strong in the second half once again. Although on this night, in what often looked like a three-point shooting contest, NKU had no other choice.
Because the Norse opened the second half, after leading 47-33 at intermission in what looked like a name-your-score night, about as badly as you can. As badly as getting outscored, 19-4, in the first 5 ½ minutes to trail for the first — and as it turned out — only time in the game, 52-51.
Then on a night when so much of the scoring was coming from way outside with NKU’s 13 threes on 27 attempts – a terrific 48.1 percent – getting one-upped by CSU’s 56.0 percent on 14 of 25, things changed.
Well, LJ Wells, NKU’s 6-foot-8 senior lefty who can do pretty much what he wants to when he puts his mind – and his body – to it, changed. Kind of like Superman going into the phone booth and coming out to right whatever needs righting.
Looking up at the scoreboard where NKU was no longer leading, Wells knew he had to do something. “I put that on me,” the Eau Claire, Wisconsin native said. “I have to bring the guys with me as a leader,” he said of taking over the game.
With athletic spin moves and tough physical defense, one-hand rebounds and shot-making inside and out, LJ did just that. Look at the numbers: a team-high and season high for him, 21 points, with a team-high 10 rebounds. But LJ’s impact didn’t end with his double-double.
Nope. There were the four blocked shots, the two assists and two steals, a category where LJ was 19th in the nation (and fourth for forwards) going into this game.
But one line in the NKU game notes may have to be revised now. “A reliable third option on offense,” they described lJ. But not on this night.
Here’s Coach Darrin Horn’s take: You win basketball games with players and “We had the best player by far on the court. I’m so proud of him. He set the tone. And didn’t get a break,” playing 37:44 of the 40 minutes. “We just throw him the ball and he makes plays.”
His best game since he arrived at NKU four years ago?
“Definitely,” LJ said with no hesitation.
Although once again NKU has plenty of those guys who can score the ball with five players in double-figures scoring “and four with 17 or more,” Horn said of a team that features four starters and first sub who can fill it up.
“A lot of things we weren’t great at tonight,” Horn said. But their scoring “balance,” compensated for periods of sloppiness, he noted.
Kael Robinson, the 6-7 New Zealander, was one of those 17-point scorers despite playing just under 20 minutes with foul trouble.
And Tae Dozier, the slim 6-5 grad student transfer from Georgetown College, added four assists to his length-of-the-court dashes for multiple dunks and his 17. And off the bench as he almost always does, Donovan Oday, the Texan who transferred in from Cal State-Fullerton, got his 17 in just 22:35.
Senior guard Dan Gherezgher, after averaging 21.0 points a game the last three games, added 11. And like Robinson and Oday, knocked down three three-pointers for a Norse team that made it look easy, hitting its first three attempts from long range in less than three minutes for a 9-0 lead.
But that only seemed to inspire the Vikings, who had three players with 13 threes among them – Tre Beard with six of eight, David Giddens with four of five and leading scorer Jaidon Lipscomb with three of eight but more importantly, 14 of 15 free throws, on his way to a game-high 23.
“Hotter than any team in the conference,” the NKU game notes called the Norse coming into this conference opener. And nothing that happened here changes that.
But not to get cocky with the six straight wins, not that Horn will let them. “We challenged these guys,” he said, when the spurts of carelessness and lack of focus allowed CSU back into the game. “We won’t make any excuses for how hard we coach these guys.”
Closing out the Horizon’s early first two December games, NKU travels to Ft. Wayne Saturday for Purdue-Ft. Wayne at 2 p.m. Then it’s back home for three of the next four pre-Christmas contests (Brescia, Oakland in the Horizon, College of Charleston) around a trip to Louisville for Bellarmine).
Which is good since NKU seems to relish playing in Truist Arena, where it’s an unbeaten 6-0 even if the students at this commuter school haven’t seemed to find the Norse yet. Just 34 students – not counting the band — were in the six sections set aside for them midway through the first half in this 8,427-seat arena. But at game’s end, every NKU player circled the court, shaking hands and thanking the fans they call “Norse Nation” in this crowd of 1,814 for coming and cheering them on.
“It’s what makes this place great,” Horn said of the “Nation.”
SCORING SUMMARY
Cleveland St. 33 47 80
Northern Kentucky 47 48 95
CLEVELAND STATE (3-7, 0-1 Horizon)
Lipscomb 3-8 3-8 14-15 23, Beard,Tre 7-14 6-8 0-0 20, Giddens 5-7 4-5 0-014, Pierre-Louis 3-3 0-0 3-5 9, Ryan 3-9 0-0 2-4 8, Emery 0-2 0-1 3-4 3, Wonders 1-3 1-3 0-0 3, Jones 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, St.Hilaire 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 Totals-22-48 14-25 22-28 80.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (7-2, 1-0 Horizon)
Wells 8-12 1-1 4-5 21, Dozier 7-12 1-3 2-2 17, Robinson 6-7 3-4 2-2 17, Gherezgher 3-7 3-6 2-2 11, Elliott 2-6 1-4 2-2 7, Oday 6-9 3-5 2-2 17, Nelson 2-6 1-3 0-0 5, Rakotonanahary 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Darbyshire 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Archer 0-0 0-0 0-0 0: TOTALS 34-61 13-27 14-15 12-17 95.
Attendance: 1,814