Wells Shines as NKU Wins 6th Straight and Opens League Play with 95–80 win over CSU

Northern Kentucky opened Horizon League play with one of its sharpest offensive performances of the season, rolling past Cleveland State 95–80 inside Truist Arena. The Norse came out blazing from the perimeter, controlled the glass, and survived a second half surge where the Vikings briefly grabbed the lead before NKU steadied themselves and finished strong. Here is how each half unfolded and where the game ultimately swung.

First Half

NKU’s Early Barrage Meets Cleveland State’s Zone Defense

Northern Kentucky came out firing, and Cleveland State felt it immediately. The Vikings opened the game with a tight, paint-loaded zone defense, daring NKU to shoot over the top. The Norse took the invitation. Tae Dozier and Kael Robinson combined for the first 13 points, with Elliott assisting two of the first three opening threes and Dozier finding Kael for another. Robinson was aggressive and confident, hunting top of the key threes and scoring eight points in the first four minutes.

Vikings Settle In, But NKU Answers Inside

Once CSU adjusted and started to run shooters off the line, the game shifted to the paint and NKU handled that stretch well too. Wells and Oday delivered back-to-back scores on hard interior touches to break a mini drought for the Norse. When the Vikings collapsed even tighter in response, Oday stepped into a rhythm three to punish them from distance.

Cleveland State’s offense began to find traction through Tre Beard’s shot-making and second-chance buckets from Priest Ryan. Their best sequence of the half came on a sideline out of bounds where NKU had a defensive miscommunication and didn’t have anyone assigned to the inbounder. Lipscomb inbounded the ball, got it right back, and knocked down a wide open three that trimmed the Norse lead to 7.

But the Vikings never fully flipped the momentum. NKU continued to clean up misses, with Wells creating extra possessions on the offensive glass, and Dozier attacking the basket with force. His backdoor finish through contact, looking like he wanted the reverse before deciding midair to flip it on the near side, summed up NKU’s ability to make something out of chaos.

Vikings Hang Around, But Norse Control the Tempo

Cleveland State generated enough perimeter shot-making to avoid a blowout, hitting timely threes and capitalizing on a couple of NKU turnovers where the ball simply slipped away. The Vikings’ approach was simple: pack the paint, slow NKU’s drives, and hope to get rolling from deep.

NKU still dictated the flow. Elliott broke his scoring drought with a floater and the Norse kept the lead hovering in the 10–12 point range. Northern Kentucky walked into halftime up 47–33, fully in command of the game.

Second Half

Cleveland State’s Three-Point Flurry Turns a Blowout Into a Fight

The Vikings came out of the locker room swinging. Beard drilled a three. Giddens followed with two more. NKU’s 14-point lead evaporated to seven in under two minutes and shrank to just three soon after. Cleveland State flipped the energy of the game by doing what they do best, stretching defenses with tough, confident perimeter shooting. A sloppy turnover from NKU before the first media timeout only fed the Vikings’ momentum.

The mini swing back came when Dozier picked off a pass near midcourt and hammered home a dunk to steady NKU briefly, but CSU kept coming. When Tae fouled a three-point shooter with two seconds left on the shot clock, Cleveland State claimed its first lead. A game NKU had controlled for 20 minutes suddenly looked very different.

Wells Steadies NKU as CSU Tries to Flip the Script

Through all that turbulence, LJ Wells was the anchor. He kept scoring through contact, cleaned up the glass, and delivered the bucket that helped NKU regain composure. Robinson's offensive rebound into a Wells three with just over ten minutes left was the momentum reset the Norse needed.

Seconds later, Wells jumped a passing lane, started the break, and set up Oday for a dunk that reignited the team. Cleveland State’s bench boiled over, drawing a technical that pushed the lead back toward double digits again. The Vikings were still competing, with Beard attacked early in the clock, Pierre-Louis battled inside, and CSU kept finding Giddens for rhythm threes, but NKU began to regain their first half composure.

Norse Reclaim Control Behind Timely Shooting and Pressure Defense

Elliott drilling a corner three in transition to restore a 12-point cushion with under seven minutes left. Wells added a steal and dunk moments later, and NKU’s defensive pressure finally started turning CSU’s guards over. Horn in the postgame with Jim and Rick on Elliott's struggles:

“His confidence was as low as it could get, but we weren’t down on him at all. We have tremendous confidence in him, and he really impacted the game for us.”

The Vikings kept swinging, but every time they tried to close the gap, NKU answered. That might have been the best version of Tae Dozier all season: aggressive, disruptive, and composed. Dan Gherezgher broke CSU’s press with a perfectly placed lob to Dozier for one of NKU’s prettiest buckets of the night.

Late Turnovers Keep CSU Alive, but NKU Finishes the Job

The only reason the final minutes weren’t cleaner was a series of rushed decisions against CSU’s full-court press. NKU gave the Vikings extra possessions, and Cleveland State took advantage enough to keep the margin from ballooning.

They never got close enough to regain real leverage. Oday closed with strong free throws, Wells owned the defensive paint, and NKU finished the final minute with a run of dunks and transition plays that sealed a 95–80 win. A game that showed both NKU’s explosive ceiling and how dangerous Cleveland State can be when they catch rhythm from deep.

Final Numbers and Takeaways

Six straight wins and nine straight at home dating back to last season. NKU is starting to build some steady momentum, and a few numbers help explain why. The free throw shooting has climbed to 76.1%, ranking 62nd nationally, and that improvement has given the Norse reliable scoring late in games. With that in mind, a few individual storylines from this matchup stand out even more.

Wells dominated the night and continues to deliver exactly what the staff and fans hoped for this season: consistency. He played a season high in minutes, made a season high in field goals, recorded his third double-double of the year, and grabbed seven offensive rebounds. He also posted a season best four blocks and now has eight blocks in his last three games after having only three total across the first six. He has recorded at least one steal in every game. He has also scored in double figures in every NKU win and only missed that mark in the two losses at Tennessee and ETSU.

“LJ Wells played like a grown man tonight. He was an absolute monster on the glass and brought a steadiness we really needed.” -Darrin Horn

Wells has become so important that it raises a fair question about what happens if he picks up early foul trouble. Robinson would naturally take on more minutes, but he does not bring the same physical rebounding presence. Robinson has just seven total rebounds in the last 3 games. Archer has not found consistent minutes yet, and while he would have to step up in a longer Wells absence, the production drop would likely be significant. He is averaging under four minutes across the last four games. Just something to keep an eye on as the season moves along.

Lipscomb, Beard, and Giddens carried nearly the entire offensive burden for Cleveland State. The trio combined for 57 of the Vikings’ 80 points and were the only consistent scoring threats CSU had all night. They took 21 of the team’s 25 three point attempts and knocked them down at a blistering 62%, which is the only reason Cleveland State stayed within striking distance during NKU’s first half runs and again during their early second half push.

The Vikings and Coach Summers also mixed in some zone defense throughout the game. On the Norse's first offensive possession of the game they took advantage of the zone by getting an offensive rebound and kicking it out to Dozier for a three. On the night NKU went 12 for 17 from the field against their zone, which included 7 of 9 from three.

Oday delivered another strong scoring night but finished with six turnovers. Watching them back, several came from going too fast and traveling, losing the ball on drives, or trying to thread passes through traffic. A couple were simply the ball slipping through hands, including one thrown into a crowd around Wells. Most of these turnovers were just Oday going too fast and are easy ones to clean up going forward.

Kael Robinson continues to be one of the best top of key shooters in the country. He is now 13 for 21 from that spot, 61.9%. For the season he sits at 51.1% from three overall. He started fast again, but foul trouble kept his minutes down in this game.

Gherezgher has the opposite profile. The top of the key has not been as kind to him, but from both wings combined he is shooting 18 for 40 from 3. This was one of those nights where NKU can still put up 95 points even with Dan functioning more as a role player. He took only seven shots and fouled out on a late fast break where he should have simply allowed the score. NKU was up 12 with just under two and a half minutes remaining, and he barely contested the layup before drawing the foul. In a closer game, that foul out would have been crucial as NKU struggled to break the Vikings full court press a couple times following his fifth foul.

Cleveland State's Key Players

Jaidon Lipscomb: 34 MIN, 23 PTS, 3-8 FG, 3-8 3PT, 14-15 FT, 3 REB, 2 PF, 1 AST, 4 TO, 0 BLK, 2 STL
Tre Beard: 35 MIN, 20 PTS, 7-14 FG, 6-8 3PT, 0-0 FT, 4 REB, 2 PF, 5 AST, 2 TO, 0 BLK, 3 STL
David Giddens: 24 MIN, 14 PTS, 5-7 FG, 4-5 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 3 PF, 1 AST, 2 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL
Holden Pierre-Louis: 20 MIN, 9 PTS, 3-3 FG, 0-0 3PT, 3-5 FT, 5 REB, 4 PF, 1 AST, 2 TO, 3 BLK, 1 STL
Preist Ryan: 33 MIN, 8 PTS, 3-9 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-4 FT, 5 REB, 1 PF, 3 AST, 3 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL
Chevalier Emery: 22 MIN, 3 PTS, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT, 1 REB, 2 PF, 1 AST, 4 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL
Foster Wonders: 21 MIN, 3 PTS, 1-3 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, 0 REB, 2 PF, 0 AST, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL

Northern Kentucky’s Key Players

LJ Wells: 38 MIN, 21 PTS, 8-12 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-5 FT, 10 REB, 1 PF, 2 AST, 2 TO, 4 BLK, 2 STL
Tae Dozier: 32 MIN, 17 PTS, 7-12 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 4 PF, 4 AST, 2 TO, 2 BLK, 2 STL
Kael Robinson: 19 MIN, 17 PTS, 6-7 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 2 REB, 4 PF, 4 AST, 2 TO, 0 BLK, 2 STL
Donovan Oday: 23 MIN, 17 PTS, 6-9 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, 4 REB, 1 PF, 2 AST, 6 TO, 0 BLK, 2 STL
Dan Gherezgher: 28 MIN, 11 PTS, 3-7 FG, 3-6 3PT, 2-2 FT, 2 REB, 5 PF, 3 AST, 0 TO, 1 BLK, 1 STL
Ethan Elliott: 30 MIN, 7 PTS, 2-6 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 3 REB, 1 PF, 5 AST, 0 TO, 0 BLK, 1 STL
Shawn Nelson: 14 MIN, 5 PTS, 2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-0 FT, 1 REB, 1 PF, 1 AST, 1 TO, 0 BLK, 0 STL

	Cleveland State	Northern Kentucky
Field Goals (FG)	22-48 (45.8%)	34-61 (55.7%)
Three-Point FG (3PT)	14-25 (56.0%)	13-27 (48.1%)
Free Throws (FT)	22-28 (78.6%)	14-15 (93.3%)
Total Rebounds (Offensive)	23 (8)	29 (12)
Assists	14	22
Steals	6	12
Blocks	3	7
Turnovers	20	14
Points Off Turnovers	16	26
Fast Break Points	9	17
Points in the Paint	16	40
Personal Fouls	16	19
Largest Lead	1	15

Up Next- @ Purdue Fort Wayne on December 6th at 2 pm

NKU heads on the road for a quick turnaround, closing out the Horizon League opening week with a trip to Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mastodons are looking to bounce back after a road loss at Oakland. It’s another early conference test for the Norse, who are trying to build on six straight wins and keep their momentum rolling away from home. Full scouting report and matchup breakdown coming soon.

Follow all the action with Jim Kelch and Rick Broering on ESPN 1530 with pregame coverage starting at 1:30 pm on December 6th! You can also watch the game on ESPN+.