Norse Blitz Cleveland State Early, Cruise to 81–70 Road Win
Northern Kentucky controlled this one from the opening stretch and never let it flip. Behind a dominant defensive first half and an explosive close to the period, the Norse built a cushion that carried them to an 81–70 win at Cleveland State. Here’s how it unfolded.
A Sluggish Start, Then a Defensive Squeeze
The game opened with both teams searching for rhythm, but it was Cleveland State that completely stalled out. The Vikings managed just one field goal over the first 13 minutes, and most of their early possessions ended in forced jumpers or shots sent right back. Donovan Oday set the tone defensively, swatting away multiple attempts in the paint and altering others.
Offensively, the Norse were not blazing early, but they were steady. They pushed into a lead almost immediately and never trailed. As Cleveland State struggled to find any flow, NKU quietly built separation behind defensive stops and transition chances.
Oday’s Perfect Burst and Gherezgher’s Wing Barrage
After a quiet opening stretch offensively, Oday flipped the switch.
He knocked down a three. On the next touch, he attacked off the bounce and finished at the rim. Then he stepped into another three. Just like that, the momentum felt permanent. Oday started the game a perfect 5-5 from the field and gave NKU the scoring punch to match its defense.
Then Dan Gherezgher found his spot on the wing and stayed there. He drilled back-to-back threes from the same side of the floor, each one stretching the lead further. NKU’s ball movement was sharp, and Cleveland State could not rotate quickly enough to contest.
By halftime, Northern Kentucky had hit 8 threes and shot 50% from the field in the half, taking a commanding 42–24 lead into the break.
Play of the Game: Chaos Out of a Timeout
The defining moment came in the final 23 seconds of the half.
Out of a Cleveland State timeout, the Norse ramped up the pressure and double teamed the Vikings guards twice after they crossed halfcourt, and nearly forced an over and back. When the Vikings tried to reset, Bryce Darbyshire jumped the passing lane for a steal. He immediately pushed the ball ahead in transition.
Ethan Elliott trailed the play, stepped into space, and buried the three as the buzzer sounded. It was a gut punch sequence. Defensive pressure. A turnover. Perfect spacing. A trail three. Instead of Cleveland State finding life before halftime, NKU walked into the locker room up 18.
Norse Punch First, Elliott Sets the Tone Again
If there was any thought of a Cleveland State surge out of the locker room, NKU shut it down quickly.
The Norse opened the second half with purpose. Two quick baskets, a defensive stop, and another score pushed the lead right back toward 20. LJ Wells scored inside, Donovan Oday finished in transition, and the defensive pressure never dipped.
Then came one of the sharper sequences of the night from Ethan Elliott. He attacked for a layup to make it 52–31, and on the very next defensive trip stepped in and drew a charge. For a moment, it felt like the game was headed toward a runaway.
Vikings Make a Push, Norse Win at the Line
Cleveland State finally found a little life midway through the half. An 8–0 run, fueled by interior finishes and second chances, trimmed the margin to 63–48. NKU hit a brief scoring drought, and the rhythm that defined the first half wavered.
Instead of forcing contested threes, they leaned into the paint and into contact. Wells became the steady hand, attacking downhill and living at the line. Oday added free throws of his own. What could have turned into a tense final six minutes instead became a free throw battle that NKU controlled and ultimately won.
Northern Kentucky shot 19-26 from the line for the game, including 15-20 in the second half, closing the door methodically. Cleveland State never got closer than 11 in the final minute, and the Norse walked out with an 81–70 road win built on early defense, timely shot-making, and composure late.
Final Numbers and Takeaways
Northern Kentucky never trailed and dictated this one from the opening minutes. With the loss, Cleveland State will host the No. 10 vs No. 11 play in game to tip off the Horizon League Tournament and, in many ways, the start of tournament season across college basketball.
The Norse built the win on defense. For nearly the first 10 minutes, Cleveland State could not find any rhythm offensively, and that early scoring drought created the cushion NKU managed the rest of the night. The commitment to man to man defense continues to define this stretch. Over the last six games, where NKU is 4-2, the Norse have played nearly 90% of their defensive possessions in man. During that span, they have held opponents to 72.5 points per game.
LJ Wells led the way offensively. He attempted a career high 16 free throws and finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, his fifth double double of the season. He controlled the paint, attacked mismatches, and steadied the Norse whenever Cleveland State threatened to make a push.
Donovan Oday bounced back with one of the most efficient performances in NKU’s Division I history. He finished with 22 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting night from the field. Those eight makes are the most without a miss by a Northern Kentucky player in the Division I era.
The lineup of Wells, Robinson, Elliott, Oday, and Dozier was especially effective. That group played 23 offensive possessions together and scored 24 points. Defensively, they held Cleveland State to just 13 points on 25 possessions, forced five turnovers, and limited the Vikings to 31.6% shooting from the field. It was a two way stretch that quietly decided the game.
A big reason that unit functioned so well was Ethan Elliott. He turned in one of his strongest performances of the season, finishing with a season high seven rebounds, eight assists, just one turnover, and five points on 2-3 shooting. Since returning from his head injury six games ago, Elliott has been playing nearly 35 minutes per game, totaling 25 assists against 11 turnovers in that span.
After the game, Coach Horn summed up Elliott’s impact during his postgame interview with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering.
"I thought he controlled the game... when he’s in the game playing that way, I think it not only is good for him, but more importantly, I think it elevates the guys around him."
Another player quietly making an impact off the bench is Bryce Darbyshire. He helped ignite the defining sequence of the night to close the first half.
NKU showed what looked like a token press out of the timeout, but once Cleveland State crossed half court, the Norse tightened it up. They trapped twice along the halfcourt line, forced the ball into traffic, and Darbyshire timed his swipe perfectly on the drive to come up with the steal. That play sparked the transition opportunity that ended with the buzzer beater three.
It was a small stat line night for Darbyshire, but that stretch was a winning play. Check it out below.
NKU has quietly carved out an edge in what some call the “special teams” part of basketball, baseline and sideline out of bounds situations. The Norse were sharp again on baseline out of bounds plays, turning four opportunities into three made threes. Two of those came directly off the initial action drawn up.
Dan Gherezgher and Kael Robinson were both freed up for clean looks off sets designed by assistant coach R.J. Evans, who handles the out of bounds responsibilities. In league play, NKU ranks sixth in the conference in total points scored on baseline out of bounds possessions with 91. Robert Morris leads the way with 131 points off BLOB actions.
For the second time this season, NKU faced Cleveland State without the Vikings’ leading scorer Dayan Nessah, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Preist Ryan stepped up in his absence, coming off the bench to post 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Even so, the Norse never allowed Cleveland State to find a rhythm from the perimeter. The Vikings finished just 5-24 from three, and NKU’s pressure on the ball made clean looks hard to come by all night.
With one game left in the regular season, NKU will land somewhere between the No. 5 and No. 7 seeds in the Horizon League Tournament. A win on Saturday guarantees the Norse the No. 6 seed.
Climbing to the No. 5 seed requires everything to break perfectly. NKU must beat Wright State, IU Indy must defeat Purdue Fort Wayne, Oakland must beat Detroit Mercy, and Green Bay must knock off Youngstown State. It is a narrow path, roughly a 6% scenario, but if it plays out that way, NKU would host Detroit Mercy in the opening round.
More realistically, the Norse are looking at a road trip to Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne, Detroit Mercy, or Oakland depending on how the final results shake out. Saturday will determine the bracket, but NKU at least controls its position in the 6-7 range with a win.
Northern Kentucky’s Key Players
LJ Wells: 32 MIN, 24 PTS, 6-13 FG, 0-1 3PT, 12-16 FT, 12 REB, 1 PF, 4 AST, 3 TO, 0 BLK, 1 STL
Donovan Oday: 29 MIN, 22 PTS, 8-8 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, 3 REB, 5 PF, 0 AST, 4 TO, 3 BLK, 1 STL
Kael Robinson: 26 MIN, 11 PTS, 3-10 FG, 2-8 3PT, 3-6 FT, 3 REB, 1 PF, 1 AST, 1 TO, 1 BLK, 0 STL
Dan Gherezgher: 16 MIN, 11 PTS, 4-7 FG, 3-6 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 4 PF, 0 AST, 2 TO, 0 BLK, 1 STL
Tae Dozier: 33 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-7 FG, 2-7 3PT, 0-0 FT, 5 REB, 4 PF, 4 AST, 3 TO, 1 BLK, 0 STL
Ethan Elliott: 36 MIN, 5 PTS, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 7 REB, 3 PF, 8 AST, 1 TO, 0 BLK, 2 STL
Bryce Darbyshire: 11 MIN, 2 PTS, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 2 REB, 0 PF, 0 AST, 1 TO, 0 BLK, 1 STL
Cleveland State’s Key Players
Preist Ryan: 33 MIN, 20 PTS, 8-13 FG, 0-0 3PT, 4-7 FT, 10 REB, 5 PF, 1 AST, 3 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL
Tre Beard: 37 MIN, 14 PTS, 5-10 FG, 3-7 3PT, 1-1 FT, 1 REB, 4 PF, 2 AST, 2 TO, 0 BLK, 2 STL
Jaidon Lipscomb: 35 MIN, 12 PTS, 4-13 FG, 1-7 3PT, 3-3 FT, 3 REB, 3 PF, 1 AST, 3 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL
Chevalier Emery: 29 MIN, 12 PTS, 3-9 FG, 0-3 3PT, 6-7 FT, 0 REB, 4 PF, 1 AST, 0 TO, 1 BLK, 0 STL
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|---|---|---|
| Field Goals (FG) | 24-60 (40.0%) | 26-51 (51.0%) |
| Three-Point FG (3PT) | 5-24 (20.8%) | 10-28 (35.7%) |
| Free Throws (FT) | 17-21 (81.0%) | 19-26 (73.1%) |
| Total Rebounds (Offensive) | 30 (8) | 38 (7) |
| Assists | 11 | 17 |
| Steals | 2 | 7 |
| Blocks | 1 | 5 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 14 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 12 | 15 |
| Fast Break Points | 9 | 15 |
| Points in the Paint | 38 | 32 |
| Personal Fouls | 24 | 22 |
| Largest Lead | 0 | 24 |
Up Next- @ Truist Arena vs Wright State 2/28 | 7pm
Wright State comes to town having already locked up the No. 1 seed and the outright Horizon League regular season title following its win over Purdue Fort Wayne earlier this week. The Raiders defeated NKU 88–80 at the end of January. In that matchup, Michael Imariagbe led Wright State with 24 points and controlled the interior for much of the night.
