NKU welcomed the Cleveland State Vikings into Truist Arena on Wednesday night to open Horizon League play, and the evening delivered a mix of encouraging signs and clear areas for improvement. The Norse showed flashes of what makes this group so dangerous: pace, balance, and stretches of disruptive defense, but they also had moments where lapses in execution allowed CSU right back into the game. Against the upper tier of the Horizon League, those stretches will be far more costly. Tonight was a reminder of both the ceiling this NKU team possesses and the consistency they’ll need to reach it.
NKU 95
Cleveland State 80
Top Performers:
LJ Wells powered the Norse tonight with a commanding 21-point performance, but the continued story is NKU’s balance. Five Norse finished in double figures: Wells (21), Robinson (17), Dozier (17), Oday (17), and Gherezgher (11).
Wells’ night was especially dominant. In addition to leading all scorers, he recorded 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists — all while picking up just one foul and committing only two turnovers. Seven of his 10 rebounds came on the offensive end, a massive part of NKU’s plan to physically overwhelm the Vikings in the front court. That strategy played out exactly as expected, as NKU outscored Cleveland State 40–16 in the paint and held a 15–11 edge in second-chance points.
Turnovers were another major factor. NKU’s pressure bothered CSU all night, forcing 20 turnovers, which the Norse converted into 26 points. However, NKU created some problems for themselves as well, giving it away 14 times — mistakes that Cleveland State turned into 16 points. Against the top of the Horizon League, NKU will need to clean that up. One outlier tonight was Donovan Oday, who has been steady with the ball all season but committed six turnovers in this matchup.
The other area of concern was defending without fouling. Cleveland State is one of the nation’s best at getting to the free-throw line, and NKU saw that firsthand. The Norse held them to just 7 FT attempts in the first half, but the second half was a different story, as CSU earned 21 trips to the stripe. The Vikings stayed in the game largely because of their success at the line, scoring 22 points from the charity stripe.
Game Flow
NKU carried a 47–33 lead into halftime, and for a moment, it looked like the Norse might be able to slip the game into cruise control. But Cleveland State came out of the locker room with an entirely different level of energy. The Vikings opened the second half on a 19–4 run, completely flipping the momentum and briefly taking the lead just before the under-12 timeout.
That stoppage proved to be the turning point. NKU emerged from the huddle looking like a rejuvenated team, immediately reestablishing control and rattling off a run of their own to extend the lead to 68–59. During that stretch, a contentious call went in NKU’s favor, sparking visible frustration from CSU head Coach Rob Summers. A few possessions later, Donovan Oday punctuated the swing with a thunderous breakaway dunk, and the CSU coach was hit with a technical foul. NKU took a 69–59 lead and never trailed again.
While the second half was far more evenly played, the dominant first half ultimately gave NKU enough cushion to withstand CSU’s surge. That kind of inconsistency, however, will be much harder to survive as Horizon League play intensifies. The Norse will need more complete 40-minute performances against the conference’s top teams.
For those who weren’t able to make it to Truist Arena tonight, my full in-game thread walks through the flow of the matchup possession by possession — you can find it here.
Next Up:
NKU will travel to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday for a 2PM tip on ESPN+. I’ll have pregame coverage up on Friday for that one!
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Photo Credits: NKU Athletics
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