From Down 19 to a Final Shot: NKU’s Rally Ends in 80–78 Defeat at Green Bay
Northern Kentucky spent the entire afternoon trying to dig out of a hole it created in the opening 20 minutes. After getting blitzed by Green Bay’s first-half shooting and trailing by as many as 19, the Norse showed real fight in the second half, chipping away possession by possession and putting themselves in position to steal the game late. They had a clean look to win it, but the rally ultimately fell just short in an 80–78 loss at the Kress Center.
First Half
Green Bay Sets the Tone Early
The opening minutes could not have gone much worse for NKU. A quick Green Bay three, followed by a rare early turnover from Ethan Elliott, helped the Phoenix jump out to a 5–0 lead almost immediately. Caden Wilkins wasted no time finding his rhythm, knocking down two early threes as Green Bay pushed the margin to 10–2. By the time the Phoenix hit their third three of the half, the tone was set. They were getting clean, in-rhythm looks and playing downhill, while NKU was scrambling to recover.
Phoenix Pour It On From the Perimeter
Green Bay’s shot-making snowballed quickly. The Phoenix opened the half 7-of-8 from three, stretching the defense and forcing NKU into constant rotations that never quite arrived on time. When shots were not falling from deep, Green Bay attacked gaps off the bounce and finished at the rim. The result was a lopsided 27–11 score at the under-12 media timeout, with NKU struggling to string together consecutive defensive stops as Green Bay shot 70.4 FG% and 80.0 3PT% in the half. In the postgame with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering, Coach Horn mentioned the first half struggles:
“We didn’t play well enough defensively in the first half. They shot 70%. That’s on us.”
Oday Carries the Offense and Press Sparks Life
If there was a lifeline for NKU in the first half, it was Donovan Oday. Inserted early, Oday provided nearly all of the Norse offense during the middle stretch, scoring 11 points in his first six minutes of game action. Out of a timeout, NKU briefly shifted into full-court pressure, generating a needed basket and a momentary change in energy. Still, even during that stretch, the Norse were trading baskets rather than gaining ground, as Green Bay continued to answer every run.
Late Threes Trim, But Deficit Holds
Elliott began to settle in late, delivering a sharp full-court pass that led to a Donovan Rakotonanahary finish and later knocking down NKU’s first two threes of the game himself. Tae Dozier capped the half with a late three, trimming the deficit to 51–35 at the break. The issue was everything that came before it. Kael Robinson was held scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, and NKU never led or tied the game in the half. Green Bay went to the locker room firmly in control after owning nearly the entire first half on both ends of the floor.
Second Half
Early Pressure, Same Problem
NKU came out of the locker room with intent, going straight into a full-court press to try to speed Green Bay up and create cracks. It helped briefly. The Norse trimmed the margin to 14, but the momentum never stuck. Green Bay immediately answered with a three, then followed it with a clean drive and finish to shove the lead right back to 19. Every time NKU showed signs of life, the Phoenix had a response ready.
Elliott and Oday Keep Pulling the Rope
With the deficit hovering in the mid-to-high teens, Ethan Elliott stepped into an unlikely role as a perimeter lifeline. His second-half threes were not expected shots, but they mattered, helping NKU stay within striking distance. The bigger issue was on the other end. The Norse could score in pockets, but they could not string together stops. Even when Dan Gherezgher converted an and-one to cut the lead to 12 with under 12 minutes left, Green Bay continued to find just enough offense to maintain control.
A Furious Run Brings It to the Brink
The game finally cracked open in NKU’s favor midway through the half. Donovan Oday drilled a top-of-the-key three to make it an 11-point game, only for Justin Allen to answer right back from deep. Moments later, Elliott pushed the ball in transition and dropped a perfect bounce pass to Oday for an impressive and-one finish, cutting the lead to nine. It was the first time NKU had been within single digits since the opening minutes.
From there, the Norse caught fire. Kael Robinson finally broke through with a basket, hitting a trail three. LJ Wells followed with a trail three of his own, and Oday capped the sequence with another three to pull NKU within four. Three straight threes in a blur, with just over four minutes left, completely flipped the energy in the building.
Late Chaos and a Final Look That Wouldn’t Fall
The closing minutes were tense and messy. Allen hit a tough fadeaway, but Oday answered quickly to keep it a four-point game. Wells knocked down two free throws after a Preston Ruedinger bucket to hold the margin at four with two minutes left. Then came another critical moment. Donovan Rakotonanahary finished a layup off an Elliott feed to make it a two-point game with just over a minute to go.
NKU called timeout with 33.9 seconds left, down two at 80–78. Out of the huddle, Gherezgher drove and kicked to Wells, who was fouled and sent to the line. Both free throws came up empty, but the ball went out of bounds after Wells and Preston Ruedinger dove for it. Green Bay was initially awarded possession, but NKU challenged and won, keeping the ball with 21.4 seconds left.
The final sequence unraveled. Robinson traveled on the drive, giving Green Bay the ball with 17.2 seconds left. Allen missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Wilkins climbed over Wells for the rebound. Wilkins then missed his own free throw, giving NKU one last chance. Oday drove and missed a tough layup, tipped it out to Wells, who found Robinson wide open for the go-ahead three. The shot rattled out.
After a furious second-half rally, NKU walked out of the Kress Center with an 80–78 loss, undone by a brutal first half and a final look that refused to fall.
Final Numbers and Takeaways
Green Bay’s first-half shooting put NKU in a hole that ultimately proved too deep. The Phoenix opened the game on fire from three, going 8-of-10 in the first half and forcing the Norse to chase from the opening minutes. As the game settled, the law of averages showed up for both teams. Green Bay cooled off to 2-of-9 from three in the second half, while NKU flipped the script after struggling on open looks early, shooting 7-of-13 from deep after halftime. The second-half shooting surge fueled the comeback, but the early damage lingered.
Donovan Oday was the lifeline that kept NKU within striking distance. After scoring 12 points in the first half, he finished with 31 on just 15 shot attempts, an extremely efficient night that included a collegiate career high in points and four made threes. It was a season high with 10 made field goals and his fourth 20-plus point performance in the last six games. His ability to push the ball off makes or misses and relentlessly attack downhill consistently puts defenders on their heels and explains why he gets to the foul line so often.
Kael Robinson’s night was a sharp contrast to his Milwaukee performance. After scoring 29 points with nine threes in the last game, he was limited to a season-low 16 minutes and went 1-of-8 from the field and 1-of-6 from three. Green Bay’s defenders took him out of rhythm early, consistently doubling him in the post and never allowing him to get comfortable.
He finished with a season-low four points, but still had a chance to flip the story late. His wide-open three off an offensive rebound in the final seconds would have given NKU the lead, but it rattled out. As Coach Horn said:
“That’s exactly what we wanted. We attacked a non-set defense, kicked it out to a shooter, and the shot just didn’t go in.”
It was also a rough road swing back to Wisconsin for Dan Gherezgher. Across the Milwaukee and Green Bay games, he combined for 11 points while shooting 4-of-22 from the field and 0-of-14 from three. Gherezgher will be looking to reset and bounce back quickly once the Norse return home on Thursday.
The rotation continues to tighten. NKU appears settled on a seven-man core of Wells, Elliott, Dozier, Gherezgher, Robinson, Oday, and Rakotonanahary, with Ryan Tolliver providing brief bursts when LJ Wells needs a breather. When those seven are clicking, they give the Norse their best blend of offense and defense, and we saw small bursts of that against the Phoenix.
One familiar face was also in attendance. Former Norse guard and Wisconsin native Josh Dilling was at the Kress Center. Dilling, who averaged 13.5 points per game and shot 39.5% from three during his lone season at NKU, is now coaching high school basketball in the state.
Northern Kentucky’s Key Players
Donovan Oday: 29 MIN, 31 PTS, 10-15 FG, 4-6 3PT, 7-8 FT, 1 REB, 2 AST, 2 PF, 0 TO
LJ Wells: 36 MIN, 13 PTS, 4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-6 FT, 7 REB, 2 AST, 0 TO
Ethan Elliott: 34 MIN, 11 PTS, 3-11 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 7 AST, 1 TO
Tae Dozier: 32 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, 6 REB, 5 AST, 0 TO
Dan Gherezgher: 28 MIN, 5 PTS, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-1 FT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 0 TO
Kael Robinson: 16 MIN, 4 PTS, 1-8 FG, 1-6 3PT, 1-2 FT, 2 REB, 3 AST, 2 TO
Green Bay’s Key Players
Justin Allen: 31 MIN, 27 PTS, 10-17 FG, 2-6 3PT, 5-7 FT, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 TO
Caden Wilkins: 30 MIN, 17 PTS, 6-11 FG, 5-9 3PT, 0-1 FT, 3 REB, 4 AST, 0 TO
Marcus Hall: 35 MIN, 13 PTS, 4-5 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-4 FT, 6 REB, 9 AST, 0 TO
Preston Ruedinger: 37 MIN, 9 PTS, 3-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, 6 REB, 7 AST, 3 TO
C.J. O’Hara: 39 MIN, 8 PTS, 4-7 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-1 FT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 TO
Green Bay
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Northern Kentucky
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|---|---|---|
| Field Goals (FG) | 30-52 (57.7%) | 26-58 (44.8%) |
| Three-Point FG (3PT) | 10-19 (52.6%) | 10-26 (38.5%) |
| Free Throws (FT) | 10-15 (66.7%) | 16-20 (80.0%) |
| Total Rebounds (Offensive) | 34 (9) | 25 (9) |
| Assists | 20 | 16 |
| Steals | 1 | 7 |
| Blocks | 3 | 1 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 3 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 4 | 13 |
| Fast Break Points | 7 | 27 |
| Points in the Paint | 40 | 32 |
| Personal Fouls | 15 | 17 |
| Largest Lead | 19 | 0 |
Up Next- @ Truist Arena vs Detroit Mercy 1/15 | 7pm
Detroit Mercy arrives playing its best basketball of the season, improving to 4–3 in conference play after a home win over Cleveland State on Sunday. That victory already matches the Titans’ total number of Horizon League wins from last season. It will be another test for NKU, facing a team gaining confidence and momentum as league play continues.
