Turnovers and a Cold Opening Half Catch Up to NKU in Johnson City
Back in Tennessee for the second time in a week, Northern Kentucky ran into an ETSU team that came out sharp and aggressive from the start. The early pressure created problems and left the Norse fighting to steady themselves before finding a rhythm later in the first half. Let’s walk through both halves before breaking down the final stats and takeaways from the game.
First Half
Rough Start and Early Turnovers
Northern Kentucky opened the night very slow on offense. ETSU’s pressure and length immediately bothered the Norse, and the ballhandling issues piled up fast. In the first 10 minutes, NKU committed nine turnovers. The Buccaneers capitalized on almost all of them.
For ETSU, Cam Morris got loose early, hitting a transition three and scoring at the rim, while Blake Barkley hammered home a dunk to make it 9–0 ETSU. Brian Taylor added tough finishes inside, and the Bucs were in full control at 18–4. In his postgame talk with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering, head coach Darrin Horn didn’t hold back:
“Such a bad start offensively. We dug ourselves a hole, and it was all self-inflicted.”
Norse Start Chipping Away
Once NKU settled in, the energy changed. Dan Gherezgher sparked the offense with a couple of threes and aggressive drives. Donovan Oday, steady as he’s been through three games, added timely buckets and continued the consistent scoring stretch that has him averaging 14.3 points a game so far. The defense finally stabilized, allowing NKU to get out in transition. ETSU’s early momentum cooled as their bench came in and the shot-making dipped.
Bench Brings Life
The initial Norse comeback was fueled almost entirely by the second unit.
• Tae Dozier brought pace and ball pressure.
• Donovan Rakotonanahary provided six rebounds and physical interior play.
• Addison Archer added rim protection with a couple of key blocks.
ETSU, meanwhile, struggled to score during this stretch. Their bench didn’t offer the same punch, and NKU took advantage by attacking early in the shot clock. Horn praised this group specifically:
“The encouraging part was the fight from the bench. Tae gave us a lift, Donny R was terrific, and Addison was active.”
Closing the Gap Before Halftime
In the final three minutes, NKU turned stops into points. Oday grabbed a steal and scored in transition. Dan knocked down a three. And with four seconds left, Kael Robinson slipped inside for a late layup that was ruled goaltending to cut the margin to 33–32 ETSU at the break. The Norse had survived a disastrous start and were right back in it.
Second Half
ETSU Regains Control Through Its Core Trio
Whatever momentum NKU built before halftime disappeared almost immediately. The Norse opened the second half with another run of mistakes, giving the ball away five times in their first eight possessions, including three straight turnovers before even attempting a shot. Rewatching that stretch back makes Horn’s postgame comments feel spot on. NKU had a real chance to grab its first lead if it simply played clean basketball, but instead handed ETSU the ball and the momentum right out of the break.
“None of those turnovers were forced. We were literally just giving the ball away.”
Taylor and Morris Take Over the Middle Chunk
As NKU tried to build some offensive traction, ETSU’s players kept firing.
• Taylor hit a big corner three, then scored back-to-back midrange jumpers to stretch the lead.
• Morris continued hunting mismatches, powering his way downhill for layups and drawing fouls.
• Barkley stayed perfect from the field, finishing 5-for-5.
Every time NKU cut it to a two or three possession game, ETSU countered with a basket inside.
Norse Bright Spots but Not Enough Stops
Gherezgher stayed aggressive, knocking down two more threes and scoring in transition. Oday added tough drives, and Robinson finally connected on a wing three. Rakotonanahary kept crashing the glass and giving NKU life, but stops never came in bunches, and Wells and Robinson never found consistent footing.
• Wells attempted only two shots, limited by foul trouble and ETSU’s interior size.
• Robinson shot 3-for-12 and passed up open looks the Norse needed him to take. Horn touched on both:
“Their bigs played well. LJ has to find a way to impact the game as a senior.”
“Kael just didn’t play aggressive or physical enough. He passed up shots we need him taking.”
ETSU Closes It Out
Once the Bucs pushed the lead back to double digits around the eight-minute mark, the game never tightened again. Taylor kept scoring inside. Morris punched in two more buckets. And ETSU steadily extended the margin at the free-throw line. NKU tried to claw back, but the early second-half turnovers and ETSU’s efficiency in the paint were too much to overcome. The Buccaneers finished shooting 59 percent and won the paint 42–28, sealing a 75–63 home win.
Final Numbers and Takeaways
This very much had the feel of a mid November game with a team that has 9 new players. The Norse never found consistent rhythm as a team and that showed with a lot of the simple mistakes.
Northern Kentucky played behind all night, in a game they should have found a way to have a lead at least for a couple stretches. Every time they worked themselves back into the game, they would take themselves back out. NKU forced 18 turnovers, won the rebounding battle, took 19 more shots, but made three fewer shots and turned the ball over 18 times themselves as well.
Gherezgher and Oday were the two reliable offensive pieces from the game, combining for 38 of NKU's 63 points. Dan made 5 of the Norse's 7 threes, with everyone else on the team shooting 2-18 (11.1%) from behind the arc. This made it very difficult to ever find consistency on offense. On top of the poor three point shooting, NKU got outscored in the paint by 14.
LJ Wells has struggled to get it going offensively to start this season. Just 4 points in last 49 minutes played in last 2 games and last night he fouled out in a 17 minute effort. Elliot also played a season low in minutes, but not due to foul trouble. He struggled defending on the perimeter in this one, giving up eight points defensively and multiple straight line drive baskets that resulted in easy baskets for the Bucs. The good thing for the Norse, is that a large portion of the mistakes made in this game are very correctable ones going forward.
Northern Kentucky's Key Players
Dan Gherezgher: 34 MIN, 24 PTS, 8-19 FG, 5-12 3PT, 3-4 FT, 1 REB, 2 PF, 2 AST, 4 TO, 1 STL
Donovan Oday: 33 MIN, 14 PTS, 5-10 FG, 0-4 3PT, 4-4 FT, 2 REB, 4 PF, 4 AST, 2 TO, 3 STL
Kael Robinson: 25 MIN, 7 PTS, 3-12 FG, 1-6 3PT, 0-1 FT, 6 REB, 3 PF, 3 AST, 4 TO, 1 BLK, 4 STL
Ethan Elliott: 19 MIN, 6 PTS, 3-6 FG, 0-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, 3 REB, 1 PF, 1 AST, 4 TO
LJ Wells: 17 MIN, 0 PTS, 0-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, 7 REB, 5 PF, 0 AST, 2 TO, 1 BLK
Tae Dozier: 28 MIN, 6 PTS, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, 3 REB, 3 PF, 1 AST, 0 TO, 2 STL, 1 BLK
Donovan Rakotonanahary: 15 MIN, 4 PTS, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-1 FT, 6 REB, 2 PF, 0 AST, 1 TO, 1 STL
Eastern Tennessee's Key Players
Cam Morris III: 24 MIN, 22 PTS, 7-10 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT, 2 REB, 1 PF, 1 AST, 1 TO
Brian Taylor: 35 MIN, 20 PTS, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 4-8 FT, 9 REB, 0 PF, 2 AST, 3 TO, 2 STL
Blake Barkley: 34 MIN, 13 PTS, 5-5 FG, 0-0 3PT, 3-3 FT, 6 REB, 3 PF, 1 AST, 5 TO, 2 STL
Jordan McCullum: 22 MIN, 10 PTS, 4-6 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, 3 REB, 2 PF, 2 AST, 6 TO, 1 BLK, 1 STL
Allen Strothers: 28 MIN, 1 PT, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-2 FT, 0 REB, 5 PF, 4 AST, 1 TO, 4 STL
Maki Johnson: 25 MIN, 5 PTS, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT, 6 REB, 0 PF, 2 AST, 0 TO, 3 STL
Northern Kentucky
|
ETSU
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals (FG) | 23-63 (36.5%) | 26-44 (59.1%) |
| Three-Point FG (3PT) | 7-30 (23.3%) | 4-9 (44.4%) |
| Free Throws (FT) | 10-14 (71.4%) | 19-27 (70.4%) |
| Total Rebounds (Offensive) | 35 (15) | 32 (3) |
| Assists | 11 | 13 |
| Steals | 12 | 13 |
| Blocks | 4 | 4 |
| Turnovers | 18 | 18 |
| Points Off Turnovers | 29 | 19 |
| Fast Break Points | 31 | 13 |
| Points in the Paint | 28 | 42 |
| Personal Fouls | 22 | 18 |
| Largest Lead | 0 | 15 |
Up Next- Nov 16th vs University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 1 pm
NKU returns home Sunday to take on the Patriots, an NAIA opponent the Norse have beaten twice, including a 94–59 win two years ago. There won’t be a full pregame breakdown for this one, but I will be on the ESPN+ broadcast with Brady Laber, so tune in if you can.
