Tennessee's Size and Shooting Hand NKU First Loss of the Season

Northern Kentucky stepped into one of its toughest early-season challenges Saturday afternoon, taking on No. 18 Tennessee inside a packed Food City Center in Knoxville, where Norse Illustrated was on site for the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Norse came out swinging, matching the Vols’ energy early and even grabbing an early lead before Tennessee’s size and depth gradually took control. It was a game of hustle, toughness, and teaching moments for Darrin Horn’s group, who showed flashes of what they can become even in a 95–56 defeat to one of the SEC’s most physical teams.

First Half

Fast Start and Early Energy:
Northern Kentucky came out swinging in Knoxville, matching Tennessee’s intensity from the opening tip. Donovan Oday set the tone with a right-wing three, then followed a Dan Gherezgher steal with a fastbreak lob to Oday to tie it at 5-5. On the next defensive possession, Oday lost his shoe while defending a ball screen and when the ball was thrown to him by a Tennessee player trying to save the ball from going out of bounds, he had no choice but to take off without the shoe. He proceeded to go one-on-one with Ja’Kobi Gillespie and drew the contact and got the basket. Check out the play:

In the following possession, Kael Robinson buried a transition three off an Oday assist, and NKU held a 10–5 lead just three minutes in, capping a stretch where the Norse hit four of their first five shots. In his postgame discussion with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering, head coach Darrin Horn liked his team’s poise in the early moments:

“I didn’t think the stage rattled us, maybe a couple guys looked a little wide-eyed early, but I thought the start was really good. We came out ready.”

Vols Flip the Momentum:
The Volunteers responded with a burst of their own. Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Bishop Boswell hit back-to-back threes before freshman forward JP Estrella began to control the paint. The 6’11” forward scored on a layup, dunk, and tip-in during a 16–3 run that flipped the game’s energy. By the 10-minute mark, Tennessee led 28–18 after a layup by DeWayne Brown II.

Fighting to Stay Within Reach:
Graduate guard Shawn Nelson provided a spark off the bench, drilling a three from the right corner off a feed from Robinson. Moments later, Robinson sank his third triple of the half to trim it to 21–28. But Tennessee’s depth continued to wear on NKU, as Boswell, Gillespie, and Troy Henderson all connected from deep to push the gap into double digits again.

Late Push Before the Break:
Oday muscled in a layup through contact to keep the Norse within range, but the Vols closed the half with another flurry. Estrella’s second-chance dunk and a Cade Phillips slam off his assist made it 44–25. Robinson’s fourth three of the half offered a brief lift, yet Tennessee answered with two more deep makes in the final minute to extend the margin to 52–31 at halftime. Horn pointed to that stretch as a turning point:

“We gave up threes and didn’t get aggressive to take them away. Once they got comfortable, they hit three really tough ones right before half. That’s where it got away from us.”

Second Half

Tennessee Tightens Its Grip:
Star freshman Nate Ament came out firing to open the half, scoring eight straight for the Vols to blow the game open. Robinson answered with another three off an Ethan Elliott assist, and Gherezgher added a floater, but Tennessee continued to find rhythm. Ament’s midrange touch and Estrella’s rebounding kept NKU from stringing together stops. Horn tipped his cap to the freshman:

“He’s a special talent. There’s a reason he’s a projected lottery pick. He’s 6’10”, handles it, shoots it, and has great feel. One of those threes he hit late in the half, Donovan Oday couldn’t have guarded it any better. Just a different kind of matchup.”

Flashes of Offense, But Missed Opportunities:
The Norse still found moments of success. Elliott attacked the lane for a layup, Oday drained a three from the left wing, and Wells finished a tough basket in transition. But NKU’s inability to finish at the line (5-for-13) and 15 turnovers made it tough to sustain momentum.

Bench Keeps Competing:
Graduate guard Tae Dozier knocked down a corner three off a Wells kick-out with five minutes left, and Nelson added a late free throw, but Tennessee’s depth kept the margin wide. Estrella closed with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Gillespie added 20 and Ament’s 23 led all scorers.

Final Numbers and Takeaways

Northern Kentucky fought hard at the beginning of this game and plenty of other stretches throughout this game. What ultimately won out time and time again for Tennessee was their overwhelming amount of size and length. NKU no doubt made defensive mistakes, closing out on a perimeter shooter with two players or making it too easy to kick back out to the perimeter after doubling the post, but even after some hard fought possession, Tennessee often had the ability to rise up and get a solid look over NKU defenders.

It was clear early on, that if an NKU player got a decent or solid look at a three, that they should take the shot. Every other player was aware of this going into the game, so early on the Norse were able to take tougher threes and if they did not make them, they were able to come up with a couple offensive rebounds. NKU finished the game taking 30 three pointers and making 9 of them, with a portion of them being 3's that they would not take in any other game this season. Kael Robinson airballed three different times from deep, and still shot 40% from three.

In the end, Tennessee’s size advantage was too much to overcome. Despite the effort and the positives Darrin Horn saw from L.J. Wells’ battle inside, the Vols’ length and physicality repeatedly dictated the outcome.

“L.J. played with absolute heart and guts tonight. He’s giving up so much size every possession, but he battled like crazy. The box score doesn’t tell the story, he was physical, he competed, and he made winning effort plays.”

Northern Kentucky's Key Players

Kael Robinson: 32 MIN, 14 PTS, 5-13 FG, 4-10 3PT, 0-0 FT, 8 REB, 2 AST, 3 TO, 1 BLK
Donovan Oday: 28 MIN, 14 PTS, 6-10 FG, 2-4 3PT, 0-1 FT, 2 REB, 3 PF, 1 AST, 2 TO, 1 STL
Dan Gherezgher: 27 MIN, 9 PTS, 4-15 FG, 1-8 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 3 PF, 3 TO, 1 STL
Ethan Elliott: 30 MIN, 6 PTS, 3-8 FG, 0-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 3 AST, 2 TO, 1 STL
LJ Wells: 32 MIN, 4 PTS, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-4 FT, 10 REB, 5 PF, 2 AST, 3 TO, 4 STL
Shawn Nelson: 14 MIN, 5 PTS, 1-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-4 FT, 2 REB
Tae Dozier: 19 MIN, 3 PTS, 1-2 FG, 1-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 TO, 2 STL

Tennessee's Key Players

Nate Ament: 24 MIN, 23 PTS, 6-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 9-10 FT, 8 REB, 2 PF, 5 AST, 3 TO, 2 STL
Ja’Kobi Gillespie: 27 MIN, 20 PTS, 8-14 FG, 4-10 3PT, 0-1 FT, 3 REB, 3 PF, 4 AST, 2 TO, 1 STL
Bishop Boswell: 22 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-3 FG, 2-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, 5 REB, 1 PF, 2 AST, 0 TO, 1 STL
Cade Phillips: 18 MIN, 5 PTS, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-2 FT, 3 REB, 3 PF, 0 AST, 0 TO, 1 BLK
Felix Okpara: 20 MIN, 4 PTS, 2-5 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, 11 REB, 0 PF, 0 AST, 1 TO, 1 BLK, 1 STL
JP Estrella: 21 MIN, 17 PTS, 8-11 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, 11 REB, 1 PF, 3 AST, 2 TO
Ethan Burg: 17 MIN, 8 PTS, 2-3 FG, 2-2 3PT, 2-2 FT, 0 REB, 1 PF, 3 AST, 1 TO
DeWayne Brown II: 11 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-3 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 0 PF, 0 AST, 2 TO

	Northern Kentucky	Tennessee
Field Goals (FG)	21-58 (36.2%)	34-65 (52.3%)
Three-Point FG (3PT)	9-30 (30.0%)	12-29 (41.4%)
Free Throws (FT)	5-13 (38.5%)	15-19 (78.9%)
Total Rebounds (Offensive)	25 (10)	47 (16)
Assists	11	24
Steals	9	10
Blocks	1	2
Turnovers	15	12
Points Off Turnovers	14	20
Fast Break Points	10	22
Points in the Paint	22	42
Personal Fouls	20	13
Largest Lead	5	39

Up Next- Nov 12th @ East Tennessee State 7 pm

NKU will travel back to Tennessee about two hours east on Knoxville to face ETSU on Wednesday. The Norse are 2-4 all time facing the Bucs with their last matchup being an 84-71 loss @ ETSU in 2017.

Follow all the action with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering on FOX 1360 with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 pm on November 12th! You can also watch the game on ESPN+.