CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northern Kentucky men's basketball orchestrated an amazing turnaround late in the season, going from a six game losing streak to winning eight of 10 to close the season, but the Norse were unable to overcome the two-seed Cleveland State on the road Thursday, ending their season.
Dan Gherezgher led all scorers with 18 PTS, and
LJ Wells posted a double-double.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Northern Kentucky - 63, Cleveland State - 68
LOCATION: Wolstein Center (Cleveland, Ohio)
RECORDS: Northern Kentucky: 17-16 | CSU: 21-11
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- NKU struggled mightily from two-point range against the Vikings' league-best defense. The Norse shot just 12-37 inside the arc.
- Dan Gherezgher scored 18 points, hitting 4-8 3PT shots.
- LJ Wells was a factor on the inside, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Keeyan Itejere finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
- NKU won the rebounding battle 37-36, and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- NKU had a tough time early on, starting just 1-15 from the field to begin the game and just 27% in the first half. NKU trailed 33-27 at half.
- NKU came out firing in the second half, and evened the game at 40 early on. A long scoring drought saw the Norse go down by 13, but NKU roared back to cut the deficit to three, but Cleveland State held on for the win.
FOLLOW NKU NORSE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Get in the game and follow Northern Kentucky's NCAA Division I college team through @NKUNorseMBB on Twitter, @nkunorsembb on Instagram, nkunorsembb on Facebook and subscribe to the NKU Norse Youtube channel.
