College football dominates the sports conversation on New Year’s Day. Northern Kentucky basketball slid into the conversation with an outstanding finish in Highland Heights.
The Norse rang in the New Year by hosting the Mastodons from Purdue Fort Wayne for Horizon League action at Truist Arena. Northern Kentucky fell behind early, trailing by six at halftime, before mounting a comeback. Things got weird in the final minutes.
Northern Kentucky led by three when Purdue Fort Wayne’s Maximus Nelson sank a shot from downtown to tie the game with 21.6 seconds remaining. The Norse had a chance to win it. Instead, the ball got stuck in between the rim and the backboard. It was a wedgie with zeroes on the clock. Electric.
NKU struck first in overtime. They led by as much as four, but it wasn’t enough to put away Purdue Fort Wayne. Northern Kentucky trailed by two when Keeyan Itejere scored a contested bucket at the rim with 11 seconds remaining to lift the Norse to an overtime win. That’s how you ring in a New Year.
Electric Finish at Phog Allen
Northern Kentucky had an outstanding start to the New Year. Kansas finished 2024 with a rare loss at home.
The Jayhawks had one 33 straight conference home openers. West Virginia was without two of its top three players. The Mountaineers still won their first-ever game at Phog Allen Fieldhouse.
In a tie ballgame with just seconds to play, West Virginia’s Javon Small was sent to the free throw line. He missed the first but sank the second, leaving only 1.8 seconds for Kansas to get off a game-winning shot attempt. They went the length of the court and leaned on the refs to bail them out. It’s not a bad strategy. You have to win a game of 5-on-8 in Lawrence. Kansas fans were stunned the officials didn’t hand them a win. You love to see it.
Darian DeVries has wins over two Top 10 teams, Gonzaga and Kansas, in his first half-season in Morgantown. West Virginia found themselves a ball coach.
