NKU traveled to Eastern Tennessee State University, looking for their first Division 1 win of the season. 

Northern Kentucky opened the game cold, going scoreless for the first four minutes until a layup from Donovan Oday put the Norse on the board. Their next field goal didn’t come until Ethan Elliot hit a jumper at the 11-minute mark, allowing ETSU to climb to a 17-4 lead. The Norse fought back, and a goaltending call on ETSU at the buzzer made it a one-point game at the half, with ETSU leading 33-32

Despite the comeback effort, ETSU opened up the second half with a 9-2 run that the Norse were never able to overcome as they ultimately fell to ETSU 75-63

Dan Gherezgher led the Norse on offense, putting up 24 points, shooting 8-19 from the floor and 5-12 from three. 

The Norse grabbed an impressive 15 offensive rebounds compared to the Buccaneers’ three. NKU won the rebound battle 35-32, with LJ Wells leading the Norse with seven. 

Neither team could control the ball, with each team committing 18 turnovers. But, NKU was able to take advantage of the lack of ball security, scoring 29 points off turnovers. 

After shooting just 38.5% from the free-throw line against Tennessee, the Norse were able to improve that tonight to 71.4% 

Defense was a struggle throughout the game for NKU, allowing ETSU to shoot 59.1% from the field, with 56% of their points coming from inside the paint. The Buccaneers won the battle in the paint 42-28.

The Norse had no answer for ETSU’s Cam Morris III and Brian Taylor II as they combined for 44 of the Buccaneers’ 75 points. Morris led ETSU with 22 points, going 7-10 from the field and 7-8 at the free throw line. 

The Norse look to get back to .500 when they take on Cumberlands (Ky.) at home Sunday, Nov. 16, with tip-off set for 1 p.m..