Norse Battle for 40 Minutes, Fall 103-90 to Top-Seeded Raiders
Northern Kentucky went toe to toe with Wright State for much of the night, trading runs, big shots, and momentum swings in a game that never stayed calm for long. A strong Norse push early in the second half briefly flipped control, but turnovers, foul trouble, and a Raiders scoring surge turned the tide. In the end, Wright State capitalized down the stretch to pull away with a 103-90 win.
First Half
Robinson Sets the Tone, Raiders Answer Right Back
Northern Kentucky wasted no time getting comfortable. Kael Robinson drilled a three on the opening possession, a clean look that felt like a tone-setter. Wright State answered immediately when TJ Burch buried one of his own, and just like that it had the feel of a night where nobody was blinking.
LJ Wells and Michael Imariagbe traded paint touches, both teams testing the interior before Burch banked in another triple to give the Raiders their first lead at 8-5. The pace stayed sharp. Trips to the line, quick-hitting buckets, and then a swing sequence that flipped momentum.
Robinson was fouled shooting a three and calmly hit two. He missed the third, but NKU stayed aggressive. The Norse grabbed the offensive board and Dan Gherezgher made Wright State pay with a kick-out three. Five-point possession, under-16 media timeout, NKU up 14-10.
Runs, Counters, and a Back-and-Forth Grind
Wright State settled in and controlled the next stretch. The Raiders strung together a mini 6-0 run to grab the edge, and Burch kept applying pressure with confident shot-making. An inbound score sparked an 8-1 Raider push as the tempo tilted their way.
NKU didn’t panic. Donovan Rakotonanahary came off the bench and delivered back-to-back finishes to steady things and knot the score again. Then came one of the better reads of the half. The Norse flowed into a high-low look, Robinson had the lob to Wells available, pump faked it, drove hard instead, and finished through contact for an and-one. NKU back in front, 28-27.
Through three segments, it was a tug-of-war. NKU owned the first, Wright State the second, NKU the third. Ties, lead changes, and neither side creating real separation.
Shot-Making Surge and a Chaotic Finish
Out of a baseline out-of-bounds set, Robinson struck again. Another clean three, another Norse push, lead stretched to four. Solomon Callaghan answered from deep to keep it tight, but Tae Dozier countered with a corner three that brought the NKU side to life again.
The Raiders had one more punch before the break. Wright State executed beautifully inside, feeding the high-low and stacking four straight makes to reclaim the lead at 41-40. The closing minute got messy. Wells picked up his second foul fighting for rebounding position, moments after a lane violation on a missed free throw wiped out a chance to close the gap. Extra possessions swung the margin.
Robinson wasn’t done. Tolliver fought for an offensive board, kicked it out, and Robinson buried another three to tie it at 44 with seconds left. Wright State raced the other way and Burch finished at the rim before the half.
Halftime: Raiders 46, Norse 44 in a half that felt like a heavyweight exchange the entire way.
Second Half
Oday Ignites NKU, Norse Sprint Out of the Locker Room
After a quiet first half, Donovan Oday came out hunting. He drilled a three on NKU’s opening possession to grab the lead, then kept pouring it on. Oday scored the first eight Norse points of the half, slashing in transition, attacking the rim, and setting the tone with force.
Northern Kentucky opened on an 11-3 burst and looked ready to flip the game. Wright State finally steadied itself with a transition and-one from Dominic Pangonis, but the early energy belonged to the Norse.
Out of the media timeout, the Raiders struck quickly with back-to-back scores to trim it to a two-point game. Oday answered again, rising into another three to keep NKU in front. The pace was frantic, both teams trading blows in space.
Momentum Swings Hard as Raiders Seize Control
Wright State landed the first real counterpunch when it splashed a transition three to tie the game at 58-58. From there, the rhythm shifted. NKU settled for tough looks and missed chances, and the Raiders made them pay.
The surge kept building into an 11-0 stretch by the under-12 media break. During that span, Kael Robinson went down after drawing contact, grimacing and limping on the ankle he injured weeks ago. He returned, and moments later Dan Gherezgher buried a three off the inbound to stop the bleeding.
Foul trouble added pressure. Tae Dozier picked up his fourth with 10:33 left and had to sit. Wright State pushed its lead to double digits after two sloppy turnovers led to transition scores, including an alley-oop off the backboard that brought the building to life. NKU hit just one of its previous nine shots and burned another timeout trying to regroup.
The reset didn’t stick. An illegal screen gave the ball right back, and the Raiders kept squeezing.
Late Pushes, But Wright State Closes It Out
LJ Wells finally snapped the drought with a strong paint finish, and Oday followed with a putback to cut it to seven. Still, the margin proved stubborn. Oday picked up his fourth foul with just over seven minutes left, joining Dozier in the danger zone, but both stayed on the floor.
Every time NKU tried to climb back, Wright State answered. A shot-clock buzzer-beater three stretched the lead again. Michael Cooper followed with another triple to make it 81-69 with under six minutes to play.
The Raiders kept stacking momentum plays. Another late-clock three dropped, an NKU turnover turned into a transition bucket. The deficit sat at 90-77 at the under-four media timeout.
From there it turned into a free-throw game. Wright State controlled the pace, protected the lead, and closed it cleanly at the line.
Final: Wright State 103, Northern Kentucky 90.
Final Numbers and Takeaways
Despite trailing Wright State by just 1:23 in total lead time, NKU couldn’t control the moments that mattered most. The Norse made a strong push coming out of halftime, sparked by Donovan Oday’s offensive burst, but hit a lull that the Raiders fully exploited. Wright State ripped off a 15-3 run, then controlled the closing stretch with late-clock shot-making and steady free-throw shooting.
Even while playing exclusively man-to-man defense, NKU allowed a season-high 103 points, resulting in its worst defensive points per possession mark of the year at 1.226. Wright State poured in 57 second-half points and never really let its foot off the gas offensively.
NKU finished with 15 turnovers that turned into 24 Wright State points. In a game where both teams shot well, giving away that many extra possessions is tough to overcome, especially against a disciplined, high-quality team like the Raiders. Coach Horn addressed the turnover issues postgame with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering:
"It came down to turnovers. We had some really bad turnovers and way too many of them, nine between Gherzgher and Oday alone."
NKU’s grip on the game slipped around the 14-minute mark when Wright State ripped off an 11-0 run that flipped momentum for good. Fatigue looked like a factor for a Norse team playing its second game in as many days after facing Green Bay. During that stretch, NKU appeared to settle for the first open look available instead of working for better shots, and the Raiders capitalized.
The Norse forwards still delivered, just in different ways. Kael Robinson caught fire early, shooting the lights out in the first half and finishing with a team-high 24 points, four threes, and eight made free throws. His confidence showed from the opening possession and gave NKU an immediate offensive spark. Wright State adjusted after the break, keying on Robinson and limiting his impact. He didn’t score his first second-half points until the 4:03 mark.
LJ Wells stayed steady inside, adding 23 points on 9-16 shooting with six rebounds. His four-year career comes to a close, and the year-over-year improvement has been remarkable. Wells gave NKU a reliable interior presence every night. Horn reflected on his impact postgame:
"LJ Wells is not just a different player, he's a different person from spending four years and battling through adversity and just kind of sticking with it and kind of buying his time and earning his spot."
Wright State put together a balanced offensive effort, with four of its five starters scoring in double figures. Their top scorer, though, came off the bench, as Michael Cooper led the way with a huge night.
The flow of the game mirrored that shift. TJ Burch controlled the first half with his scoring and playmaking, setting the tone early. In the second half, the spotlight flipped to Cooper, whose shot-making and pace changed the game.
It also marked a rare milestone for Darrin Horn. This was the first time in his coaching career that one team defeated his squad three times in the same season. He had previously been 4-0 in those situations, including the two postseason wins this season.
Northern Kentucky’s Key Players
Kael Robinson: 24 PTS, 6-11 FG, 4-6 3PT, 8-10 FT, 4 REB, 0 AST, 3 PF
LJ Wells: 23 PTS, 9-16 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-8 FT, 6 REB, 0 AST, 4 PF
Donovan Oday: 15 PTS, 6-15 FG, 2-7 3PT, 1-2 FT, 4 REB, 2 AST, 4 PF
Dan Gherezgher: 12 PTS, 3-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-4 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST, 1 PF
Tae Dozier: 7 PTS, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, 7 REB, 3 AST, 4 PF
Donovan Rakotonanahary: 7 PTS, 3-3 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-1 FT, 1 REB, 0 AST, 4 PF
Ethan Elliott: 2 PTS, 1-6 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-1 FT, 3 REB, 7 AST, 1 PF
Wright State’s Key Players
Michael Cooper: 25 PTS, 8-13 FG, 3-6 3PT, 6-6 FT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 3 PF
TJ Burch: 22 PTS, 7-16 FG, 2-5 3PT, 6-6 FT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 2 PF
Kellen Pickett: 14 PTS, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 2 AST, 2 PF
Solomon Callaghan: 13 PTS, 2-6 FG, 2-6 3PT, 7-8 FT, 0 REB, 2 AST, 1 PF
Dominic Pangonis: 12 PTS, 4-5 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-4 FT, 2 REB, 1 AST, 3 PF
Michael Imariagbe: 8 PTS, 3-3 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-4 FT, 10 REB, 2 AST, 5 PF
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|---|---|---|
| Field Goals (FG) | 33-59 (55.9%) | 29-64 (45.3%) |
| Three-Point FG (3PT) | 9-21 (42.9%) | 9-23 (39.1%) |
| Free Throws (FT) | 28-33 (84.8%) | 23-30 (76.7%) |
| Total Rebounds (Offensive) | 31 (6) | 36 (15) |
| Assists | 17 | 16 |
| Steals | 10 | 6 |
| Blocks | 4 | 4 |
| Turnovers | 10 | 15 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 24 | 13 |
| Fast Break Points | 17 | 8 |
| Points in the Paint | 42 | 40 |
| Personal Fouls | 23 | 23 |
| Largest Lead | 17 | 6 |
Up Next- Transfer Portal
Like last offseason, the Norse have significant roster work ahead. The following players have exhausted their eligibility and will not return: Dan Gherezgher, Donovan Oday, LJ Wells, Kael Robinson, Tae Dozier, Shawn Nelson, and Mitchel Minor. That’s at least seven spots to replace heading into next season.
Keep an eye out for an offseason primer to get you ready for what should be a busy stretch for Northern Kentucky.
Thank you to everyone who subscribed to and followed Norse Illustrated this season. I appreciate the support and hope you enjoyed the coverage. A lot more is coming this offseason.
