The Northern Kentucky University men’s basketball team has a mix of veterans who have played in the NCAA Tournament and newer players figuring out how to play championship basketball.
It was the veterans who led the way last week when the Norse faced their most adversity of the season.
NKU lost a tough triple-overtime game at Robert Morris Dec. 29, 97-93. Then, they returned home to play on New Year’s Day, facing Purdue Fort Wayne, which was picked to win the Horizon League in the preseason poll.
That game went to overtime, and the Norse pulled out a 69-68 win. Three days later, they hosted last-place Green Bay and won convincingly, 78-60.
The win improved the Norse to 4-1 in the Horizon League and 9-7 overall as they play at Youngstown State (10-6, 5-1) Wednesday night in a battle for first place. There are four teams with one loss in league play entering action on Wednesday.
“I give a lot of credit to our guys who have been here,” said NKU head coach Darrin Horn. “Three games in seven days is hard. You go triple overtime in a tough loss, come back and play the best offensive team in the league in Purdue Fort Wayne, and if not they’re (number) two. Get down, and find a way to stick with it, win the game. Come back and play Green Bay who has a totally different way of playing. That speaks to the maturity of our guys.”
NKU is led by its two longtime veterans from local high schools, Trey Robinson from Hamilton High School and Sam Vinson from Highlands.
Robinson, a 6-7 wing, came back to the Norse for his graduate season. He was Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year last season.
He is averaging 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season. He has 1,130 career points and 611 rebounds. Robinson is averaging 19.6 points in five conference games.
He was named Horizon League player of the week on Monday after the PFW and Green Bay wins.
Robinson led NKU in scoring at 21.5 PPG during the week, with a 26-point, 9-rebound performance against Purdue Fort Wayne, a team picked to finish at the top of the league prior to the season.
Robinson buried eight 3-pointers during the week, shooting 5-for-10 vs. PFW and 3–for-5 against Green Bay. His five made triples on New Year’s Day marked a career high.
After the Fort Wayne win, Robinson spoke about the importance of mental toughness.
“It’s the same every game,” he said. “It’s all about our preparation. Obviously a tough loss but we came back the next day, watched what we did wrong and worked to execute in the next game. Our focus was there and it helped us out a lot.”
Vinson tore his ACL in December 2023 at Saint Mary’s. His scoring has suffered as a result this year because he is not 100 percent. He is averaging 11.8 points per game and the rest of his overall game has been stronger than ever, as he averages 4.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
He has 1,085 career points and 314 assists, plus 206 steals.
Norse have been versatile
Eight different Norse players have started games this year, and none of them have started every one. Robinson, Vinson and 6-foot-9 Keeyan Itejere have started all but one game.
Itejere averages 6.7 points per game and 5.4 rebounds. He has 28 blocked shots.
Junior L.J. Wells, a 6-8 forward, averages 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in only 23 minutes a contest.
Newer players have had times to shine
Darrin Horn has a lot of bench options this year, but they have had some ups and downs.
Josh Dilling, a 6-4 graduate transfer guard, is averaging 15.2 points in five conference games. Including his six 3-pointer outburst against Green Bay, he has 19 triples in 37 attempts (51.4%) in league play, making 3.8 per contest. Overall, he is averaging 12.1 points and three assists while making 44 3-pointers.
Horn said he has handled the ball at the point a lot to take some of the workload off of Vinson.
“I just try to take the right shots,” Dilling said. “I have good teammates who can find me the open areas, and I just need to be ready to shoot. I just try to get good looks and not force things.”
Randall Pettus II, a 6-3 sophomore guard, has started eight games. He averages 9.4 points with 25 3-pointers, second on the team to Dilling.
Hubertas “Hubie” Pivorius, a 6-2 senior guard, has averaged four points in 15 minutes per game. Dan Gherezgher, a junior guard, has averaged three points per game.
Big men Cesar Tchilombo (6-9) and 7-foot Paulius Rapolis have provided sparks off the bench in the paint.
“We have had some inconsistencies with guys which is part of the deal,” Horn said. “They’ll get better as the year goes on, but they’re finding a way to be in these games and win these games.”
Norse have been tough to beat at home
NKU is 8-2 at home and has won eight straight after early losses to Nicholls State and Cincinnati, which capped the Norse’s 0-4 start.
The Norse were 5-6 in non-conference play. They lost five games to the highest-profile teams on their schedule, including power-conference schools Cincinnati, Florida State and Purdue; plus Mid-American Conference power Akron and Chris Mack’s College of Charleston team, both on the road.
Their loss to Nicholls State came on a buzzer-beater after the Norse were outrebounded by 25. That was an early wakeup call for them.
“Just the way we’re practicing,” Dilling said. “Our preparation is really solid. We’re really comfortable, we know our roles. We know what we can do to get stops on defense, crash the boards, things like that. That’s a big key for us to be successful.”
Said Horn: “We’re really pleased with this group,” he said. “I think we’ve seen some real progress the last week since we came back from Christmas, even though we lost to Robert Morris. We’re not playing flawless basketball. We’re not playing our best basketball by any stretch, but we’re getting better. “
Winning league games is only part of the puzzle
The Norse stay busy, as the Youngstown State contest starts a stretch of four games in 11 days. NKU returns home against Oakland 6 p.m. Saturday, then goes to Cleveland State Jan. 15, then back home against archrival Wright State 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18.
The games are important for the standings, but to Horn and other coaches from small-conference teams, the regular season is not as important as winning the conference tournament. That is, of course, because that determines who goes to the NCAA Tournament.
NKU has won the Horizon League Tournament four times, and in three of those the Norse weren’t the regular-season champion. Getting as high a seed as possible always helps, but Horn believes the league is so balanced that there are no easy opponents.
“Our whole thing as everybody knows is three days in March,” Horn said. “We want to be at our best when it matters most. A big part of that is your approach, the mentality you go into it with. Led by Sam and Trey, our guys did a great job of that this week.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Northern Kentucky Norse men’s basketball chases another league title
