The game came down to the last seconds. Cleveland State’s senior guard Tevin Smith stepped up to the free throw line with nine seconds on the clock. He took one dribble, bent his knees and sank the first free throw. He stepped up for his second shot with the same routine. He got into shooting form and the ball grazed right over the rim, sinking into the net and putting the Vikings out of reach. Cleveland State went on to win 68-63.
The Vikings (21-11) clinched a spot in Indianapolis for the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament in hopes of going dancing in the NCAA tournament. Cleveland State ended NKU’s season as they finished with an overall record of 17-16, going 11-9 in conference play.
This is the first season in the Head Coach Darrin Horn era where the Norse have not made it to at least a semifinal game in the tournament.
The Norse got great performances from junior guard Dan Gherezgher Jr. with 18 points and four rebounds and junior forward Keeyan Itejere who put up 13 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Outside of those two, NKU struggled offensively.
Horn relied heavily on his seniors all season, but when the lights were brightest, they were fatigued by an aggressive Cleveland State team. Horn shortened his rotation to six players, looking to get the most out of his best guys. Four Norse players clocked over 30 minutes. On the other hand, Cleveland State’s Head Coach Daniyal Robinson ran a nine man rotation, running the Norse out of the gym.
Cleveland State was led by Smith and Dylan Arnett. Both torched the Norse as they put up 16 points each. Arnett was a force on the board, grabbing 10 rebounds and posting his first double-double in the Horizon League tournament.
NKU got off to a slow start offensively. CSU, who is the leader in defense allowing only 66.6 average points per game, shut down the Norse. During the first eight minutes of the game, NKU was held to just two points.
Strong offensive performances from Gherezgher and Itejere kept the Norse in the game. Itejere was a force on the glass as he grabbed three offensive rebounds just in the first half. NKU was down by six at halftime.
The Norse picked up their offense in the second half, going on an 11-2 run to even up the score six minutes into the half. But Cleveland State got some breathing room midway through the second half and didn’t look back.
It was all gas for the Vikings. The Norse got within three in the final minutes of the game, but clutch shooting from the free-throw line helped Cleveland State outperform NKU.
Cleveland State’s season will continue as they look to keep making noise in March. They haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2021.
NKU’s season ended in heartbreak. The Norse were projected to place third in the standings this season but fell to seventh. They look to retool the team for next season as multiple key players are graduating, like Trey Robinson and Sam Vinson.
NKU will bring in two McDonald’s All-American Nominees in JJ Apathjang and Ryan Tolliver. Horn will be going into his seventh season with the Norse and hopes to gain back the title of one of the best coaches in the Horizon League. The men look bright for next season, but time will tell.