Career Night for Wells Powers NKU to 96–71 Win Over Detroit Mercy
Northern Kentucky left little doubt from start to finish, pairing pace, pressure, and shot-making to overwhelm Detroit Mercy at Truist Arena. The Norse set the tone early, absorbed every push the Titans made, and consistently responded with timely offense and defensive activity.
First Half
Early Edge, Fresh Start for Gherezgher
Northern Kentucky set the tone immediately, and it started with Dan Gherezgher. After a rough road trip, his first shot of the night was a clean catch and shoot three. On the next trip, he was fouled on a corner three, a quick confidence boost that showed up in the way he played the rest of the half. Moments later, Ethan Elliott delivered a long, on-the-money outlet that sprung Tae Dozier for a fast break dunk. Add an LJ Wells finish, and the Norse went up 10–0 in under three minutes.
Detroit Responds, Momentum Tightens
Detroit Mercy Titans didn’t fold. London Maiden went to work inside with two strong buckets, TJ Nadeau hit a transition three, and a Dozier goaltend added fuel to a 9–0 Detroit run. Just like that, what looked like it might get away early was trimmed to 10–9 at the first media timeout. Postgame with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering, Coach Horn talked about the physicality that Detroit Mercy would present:
“Really proud of our guys, in terms of the physicality that we played with. We were very concerned coming into this game with how physical that Detroit plays on both ends of the floor—the way they drive the ball, they pound it inside. And we really challenged our guys that that was going to be the key to the game, and I thought by and large our guys came out and did it."
Pace, Pressure, and Timely Answers
Even as the game tightened, the Norse never stopped pushing. Every Detroit miss turned into a chance to run. Donovan Oday consistently got downhill, Kael Robinson answered a surrendered three by sprinting back for a transition layup, and Gherezgher kept the offense flowing. One of the cleanest sequences of the half came when Gherezgher pushed off a miss, drew help, and kicked out to a wide open Elliott for a three that made it 28–19 and forced a Titans timeout. Detroit continued to hang around behind more shot-making from Nadeau, cutting the lead to 36–34 after another easy post score.
Norse Close with Authority
That was as close as it would get. Out of an NKU timeout, Gherezgher buried a step-back three, and immediately the Norse got a steal jumping a passing lane and set up an Oday dunk in transition. Elliott followed with a near coast-to-coast layup, and suddenly the game tilted hard. Northern Kentucky ripped off a 12–0 run fueled by steals, misses forced on the other end, and relentless pace. By the time Detroit finally scored again, the Norse had already stretched the margin. Wells capped the half with a three, giving him 15 points before the break and sending Northern Kentucky Norse into halftime up 52–37, fully in control of both the tempo and the scoreboard.
Second Half
Buckets Both Ways Out of the Break
The second half opened with both teams scoring comfortably, neither side able to string together stops early. Detroit’s TJ Nadeau stayed aggressive, spinning into the lane for an and-one as the Titans tried to keep pace and blunt another Norse surge. Northern Kentucky answered without panic.
Wells Takes Over the Middle Stretch
Any thought of momentum shifting didn’t last long once LJ Wells imposed himself. After Detroit trimmed the margin slightly, Wells attacked downhill for an and-one of his own to quiet a brief Titans push. From there, it became a steady diet. He scored through contact, cleaned up misses, and punished single coverage on second chances. His offensive rebound putback pushed him to 29 points with just under 12 minutes left, a snapshot of how relentless he was on both ends.
Brief Sloppiness, Quick Reset
The only wobble came midway through the half. Three straight unforced turnovers stalled the offense, including a miscue by Ethan Elliott trying to handle pressure that led to a Detroit three, cutting the lead to 71–58. Coach Horn immediately burned a timeout, and the response was sharp. The Norse slowed the game just enough, got back to attacking the paint, and stopped feeding Detroit extra possessions.
Control to the Finish Line
Up 15 with Wells back at the line, emotions boiled over for Detroit when London Maiden was hit with a technical after exchanging words, stretching the lead further. A steal and Donovan Rakotonanahary layup pushed it to 81–60, effectively sealing it. From there, Northern Kentucky Norse rolled it home. The bench emptied, the energy stayed high, and Addison Archer punctuated the night with a three as the Norse cruised past Detroit Mercy Titans down the stretch.
Final Numbers and Takeaways
Northern Kentucky went wire-to-wire in this one. Detroit Mercy hung around for most of the first half, but the turning point came after a transition post-up and score by Legend Geeter with just under six minutes left before halftime, cutting the lead to two. Coach Horn immediately called timeout, and from there the game tilted hard. Over the final five-plus minutes of the half, NKU ripped off a 16–3 run, shooting 5-for-9 from the field with two made threes and four free throws. Defensively, the Norse were just as sharp, forcing two steals, recording a block, and holding the Titans to 1-for-12 shooting in that stretch, including seven missed threes. After that close to the half, the game never got closer than 13 points in the second half.
LJ Wells delivered a true career night, blowing past his previous highs across the board. His prior career high was 21 points, set earlier this season at home against Cleveland State. On this night, he poured in 35 points in 31 minutes, shooting 11-for-15 from the field, knocking down two threes, and getting to the line 13 times, converting 11 of them. It marked the first time in his career he made more than 10 field goals in a game and set a new personal high in free throw attempts.
From the opening tip, the plan was clear. Get the ball inside to Wells and let him go to work. The NKU staff clearly felt he had a matchup advantage, and while you can’t script a career night, the edge was there from the start. Wells has also shown growing comfort shooting from the top of the key and the left wing. From those spots, he is now 10-for-30 from three on the season, and when defenses collapse on Kael Robinson inside or he is the trail man, Wells has made them pay.
“I think he’s the best player in our league, capable of being the best player in our league, but it begins and ends with him playing with great physicality and energy. And boy, he did that tonight at a high level.”
Dan Gherezgher broke out of his mini slump immediately, knocking down a three on Northern Kentucky’s first possession of the game. After going 0-for-14 from three over his previous two outings, he flipped the script in a big way, finishing 4-for-5 from deep and scoring 15 points on just six shot attempts. He also added six rebounds, three assists, and only one turnover. Just as important was his work on the other end. After giving up 26 points over the last two games, Gherezgher was charged with just two points defensively. It was a complete bounce-back performance that helped the Norse stay in control throughout the night.
Despite Ethan Elliott’s season-long shooting struggles, he continues to show signs of progress in conference play. On the season, he is shooting 33.9% from the field and 26.8% from three, but Elliott has quietly found more rhythm against league competition. He is now 10-for-27 from three in Horizon League play. Opponents are still helping off him and daring him to shoot, but if he can sustain this level of consistency on open looks, defenses will be forced to adjust.
Fist defense once again delivered results. Across 45 possessions against zone or fist coverage, Detroit Mercy shot just 30% from the field and managed only 0.667 points per possession. That defensive identity was on full display for a notable audience. Future Norse Willie Foster was in attendance, getting an up-close look at the system and team alongside his current assistant coach and former NKU standout Dantez Walton on the way to a dominant Norse win.
Northern Kentucky’s Key Players
LJ Wells: 31 MIN, 35 PTS, 11-15 FG, 2-3 3PT, 11-13 FT, 7 REB, 3 PF, 3 AST, 1 TO
Dan Gherezgher: 22 MIN, 15 PTS, 4-6 FG, 4-5 3PT, 3-6 FT, 6 REB, 2 PF, 3 AST, 1 TO, 1 BLK
Donovan Oday: 24 MIN, 15 PTS, 4-10 FG, 0-3 3PT, 7-8 FT, 1 REB, 2 PF, 3 TO, 2 BLK, 1 STL
Kael Robinson: 23 MIN, 10 PTS, 4-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 4 PF, 1 AST, 1 STL
Donovan Rakotonanahary: 18 MIN, 8 PTS, 4-4 FG, 5 REB, 1 PF, 1 AST, 1 TO, 1 STL
Ethan Elliott: 30 MIN, 5 PTS, 2-8 FG, 1-4 3PT, 0-2 FT, 5 REB, 7 AST, 1 TO
Detroit Mercy’s Key Players
TJ Nadeau: 26 MIN, 14 PTS, 5-12 FG, 4-10 3PT, 0-1 FT, 5 REB
London Maiden: 21 MIN, 11 PTS, 5-5 FG, 1-3 FT, 6 REB
Orlando Lovejoy: 31 MIN, 9 PTS, 4-17 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL
Lance Stone: 21 MIN, 8 PTS, 3-11 FG, 2-6 3PT
Legend Geeter: 21 MIN, 8 PTS, 4-6 FG, 4 REB, 1 AST
Tyler Spratt: 16 MIN, 7 PTS, 3-9 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2 REB, 1 AST
Detroit Mercy
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Northern Kentucky
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|---|---|---|
| Field Goals (FG) | 30-78 (38.5%) | 32-59 (54.2%) |
| Three-Point FG (3PT) | 8-28 (28.6%) | 9-23 (39.1%) |
| Free Throws (FT) | 3-9 (33.3%) | 23-31 (74.2%) |
| Total Rebounds (Offensive) | 38 (15) | 40 (7) |
| Assists | 8 | 19 |
| Steals | 5 | 5 |
| Blocks | 2 | 5 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 9 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 11 | 10 |
| Fast Break Points | 17 | 15 |
| Points in the Paint | 38 | 44 |
| Personal Fouls | 21 | 14 |
| Largest Lead | 0 | 27 |
Up Next- @ Truist Arena vs Robert Morris | 7pm
Northern Kentucky stays home for a quick turnaround against Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday night at Truist Arena. RMU comes to Highland Heights sitting at 3–5 in Horizon League play, currently eighth in the standings, after a 96–93 overtime loss at IU Indy Jaguars. That defeat snapped IU Indy’s conference skid and marked Robert Morris’ fourth loss in its last five games. The Norse won at RMU 79-77 on December 29th with 5 NKU players in double figures.
Following the overtime loss, RMU head coach Andy Toole pointed to execution and defensive breakdowns late as the difference:
“We had a 10-point lead to start the game, a 12-point lead with 17 minutes to go in the second half, just unable to sustain our effort, just unable to defend the ball without fouling. We'll watch the film and we'll try to continue to fight and figure something out.”
With the short turnaround, there will not be a full pregame preview, but coverage continues on the broadcast side. I will be on the ESPN+ call alongside Brady Laber.
