ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Northern Kentucky men's basketball program found themselves on the wrong side of another overtime thriller as the Norse dropped a Horizon League contest to conference foe Oakland, 70-65 after 45 minutes inside the Athletics Center O'Rena on Wednesday night.
THE FACTS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky – 65, Oakland – 70 (OT)
LOCATION: Athletics Center O'Rena – Rochester, Michigan
RECORDS: NKU: 8-9 (3-3 HL), OAK: 10-8 (5-2 HL)
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
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LJ Wells posted his best game as a Norse with the first double-double of his career. The sophomore forward went for 14 points and 15 rebounds to go along with a game and career-best five steals, three assists and a block. The 15 boards were also a career high.
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Trey Robinson chipped in 12 points, seven boards, three steals and a helper. He has now averaged 12.1 points over his last eight games played.
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Marques Warrick added 10 points, two rebounds and two assists. It was his 16
th game of the year with double-digit points.
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Michael Bradley and
Keeyan Itejere each finished with nine points. Bradley posted a game-best five assists, five boards and two steals. Itejere recorded five rebounds, two blocks and two swipes.
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Randall Pettus II had five points, two boards and a steal. He set a new career-best in points and field goals made.
- The Norse posted 38 points in the paint.
- The conference clash was tied five times and featured five lead changes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Northern Kentucky took a 29-24 lead at the half after both defenses stood out in the first 20 minutes of play.
- The two sides continued to battle back and forth, and Oakland jumped out ahead 57-51 with just 2:16 left on the clock.
- Bradley hit a quick layup and Warrick followed him right back up with a finger roll of his own to make it a 57-55 game with 1:34 left.
- After an Oakland free throw, Bradley tied the game with a contested-three at 58-58 with 56 seconds remaining.
- Neither side could score as the contest went to overtime, NKU's second consecutive extra-session game.
- Northern Kentucky kept it close but in the end, Oakland was able to escape with the 70-65 victory.
POST GAME PRESSER
NEXT UP
The Norse remain on the road for another Horizon League showdown, this time at Detroit Mercy, on Saturday, January 13. Tip is set for 1 PM ET from Calihan Hall. The contest can be
seen nationwide on ESPN+ and can be
heard anywhere in the country on Fox Sports 1360.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I college basketball team through
@NKUNorseMBB on Twitter,
@nkunorsembb on Instagram,
nkunorsembb on Facebook and
subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
