NKU traveled to Green Bay as they looked to complete the season sweep over the Phoenix.
The Norse won the tip-off and Sam Vinson put up a floater to get the Norse started on offense, followed by a jumper from Trey Robinson.
Green Bay’s Marcus Hall forced the first NKU turnover of the night, resulting in back-to-back threes to put the Phoenix on the board, giving them the early 6-4 lead.
NKU’s Josh Dilling hit his first three of the night, then Green Bay’s Jeremiah Johnson immediately responded with a three of his own.
The Norse turned the ball over again, leading Green Bay’s Foster Wonder to hit the Phoenix’s fourth three-pointer of the night to give them the 12-9 lead at the first media timeout.
NKU’s Dan Gherezgher Jr. started a 7-0 run for the Norse. Dilling was fouled on a made three and converted the and-one, putting the Norse back in the lead at 18-14.
Neither team made a field goal for nearly four minutes until Trey Robinson completed a three-point play with a layup and a foul shot.
The Phoenix had no answer for Dilling as he drained his fourth three of the night, going 4-4 from beyond the arc. The Norse took the double-digit 35-25 lead at the under-four timeout.
Both teams traded points until the end of the first half. The Norse still couldn’t control the ball as Green Bay’s Ryan Wade forced another turnover, leading to another three points for the Phoenix. The Phoenix had 16 points off of nine Norse turnovers in the first half.
The Norse played strong interior defense, forcing Green Bay to take shots from outside the arc. The Phoenix are shooting 56% from inside on the season, but the Norse held them to just six points in the paint during the first half.
The Norse led the Phoenix 42-31 at halftime.Teams traded buckets to start the second half. Wonders hit his third and final three of the night early in the second half. Despite the early success the Phoenix had from beyond the arc in the first half, they would not make another three for the remainder of the game.
LJ Wells and Dilling both made layups to give the Norse the 52-40 lead at the first media timeout of the second half.
Dilling hit his fifth three of the night, shooting 5-10 from deep throughout the game. However, the rest of his teammates went just 1-13 from beyond the arc.
Green Bay fought back by going on a 7-2 run to make it a six-point game, but two jumpers from Dilling gave the Norse the 58-49 lead at the 10-minute mark.
For over five minutes, neither team made a field goal until Green Bay’s CJ O’Hara finished at the rim. Robinson responded with a jumper to regain the Norse’s double-digit lead.
The teams traded free throws for the remainder of the game. Despite the Norse shooting just 13-24 from the line compared to the Phoenix’s 18-21, the Norse were able to maintain a steady lead from the momentum they built in the first half.
NKU defeated Green Bay 73-60 to complete the season sweep.
The Norse secured the victory by winning the points in the paint battle, 48-16.
Dilling led all scorers with 25 points, followed by Robinson with 20.
The Norse take on Milwaukee on Sunday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.