NEWCOMER DILLING LEADS NORSE IN MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON OPENER
There is a new name to know at Northern Kentucky University where the men’s basketball team has come up with a gem. His name is Josh Dilling and his game was on display Monday in the Norse’s 74-62 season-opening loss at Florida State.
Dilling, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard in his final year of college eligibility, was at Northern State last season. Monday, he was putting up shots at Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida. The Oshkosh, Wisconsin native scored a team-high 18 points in his NKU debut in a team-high 34 minutes, indicating early trust on the part of Norse head coach Darrin Horn.
It was an uneven shooting performance for Dilling, but he kept shooting. Dilling made all six of his free throw attempts. He shot 5-for-14 from the field and 2-for-11 from 3-point range. He added three rebounds, all on the defensive end. Returning 6-3 sophomore guard Randall Pettus added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Norse. Trey Robinson, a returning 6-7 senior guard, led NKU with nine rebounds.
Dilling averaged 19.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game last season at Northern State. He was a second-team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference selection. He finished among Northern Sun leaders in scoring, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, field goal percentage, 3-point shooting percentage and minutes played. Nationally, Dilling ranked sixth in NCAA Division II in 3-point percentage, 50th in points per game and just outside the top 50 in three-pointers made per game and assists. He shot a team-leading 52.3% from the field and 46.1% from 3-point range.
Emboldened by his shooting history, Dilling kept putting it up Monday as NKU’s top returning scorers, Robinson and Sam Vinson, had trouble finding scoring momentum. The two returnees, both Horizon League all-preseason first-team picks, combined for 12 points, less than half their combined average of 25 last season.
Vinson, the one-time Highlands High School standout who missed all but 13 games last season with a knee injury, scored seven points in his return. The 6-5 senior guard finished 3-for-7 shooting from the field with one 3-pointer on three attempts. He averaged 13.3 points per game last season for the 18-15 Norse. Vinson, a former 9th Region player of the year at Highlands, was an all-Horizon League third-team selection as an NKU sophomore and was named to the league all-defensive team.
Robinson scored five points Monday. He shot 2-for-8 from the field with one 3-pointer on four attempts. His scoring average last season was 11.7. Robinson scored a career-high 33 points in last season’s Horizon League tournament semifinals, earning all-tournament honors. He was also league defensive player of the year.
Marquette transfer Keeyan Itejere, a 6-9 junior forward, added eight points for the Norse, who led 10-5 early and played Florida State even, 31-31, in the second half. They also outrebounded the Seminoles, 35-32.
Taylor Bol Bowen and Jamir Watkins led FSU with 17 points each. It was a career high for Bol Bowen, and Watkins’ 19th consecutive game scoring in double figures. The Seminoles had 14 steals, leading to 17 points in transition. NKU came up with just seven steals, two by Vinson.
The Norse started Dilling, Vinson, Robinson, Itejere and 6-4 transfer guard Dan Gherezgher Jr., previously at Michigan Tech. Pettus and 6-8 junior forward LJ Wells (8 rebounds) were the first players off the bench.
Monday was NKU’s first game in five years without all-time leading scorer Marques Warrick who transferred to Missouri for his final season of eligibility. Warrick scored two points in seven minutes Monday in his debut against Memphis.
The Norse are in action next on Friday at nationally-ranked Purdue. The Boilermakers are No. 14 in the Associated Press preseason poll. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
NKU WOMEN FALL IN COACH HANS’ DEBUT
The NKU women’s basketball team received a game-high 18 points from newcomer Halle Idowu on Monday while beginning the Jeff Hans era with a 79-58 home loss to Middle Tennessee. Hans, previously head coach of the Thomas More women’s basketball team, watched the Blue Raiders lead from start to finish at Truist Arena. NKU fell behind 40-21 at halftime but played within two points of Middle Tennessee in the second half while getting outscored 39-37 after the break.
Idowu, a 5-11 senior swing player, shot 7-for-9 from the field in her NKU debut and 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Originally from Calumet Park, Illinois, she played previously at Northeastern and Toledo. Her Monday scoring output represented a big step up as Idowu averaged 2.2 points per contest last season in 17 games at Northeastern. She led the Huskies in rebounding her first season while averaging 4.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Idowu and sophomore forward Gabby Razzano were NKU’s lone double-digit scorers Monday. Razzano added a career-high 11 points and led the Norse with six rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Macey Blevins had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Blevins, the leading returning scorer with 12.9 points per game last season, is a Horizon League all-preseason second-team pick.
Freshman guard Anna Hamilton, formerly of Conner, received her first career start in her Norse debut and finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists. Idowu, Blevins, Hamilton, junior forward Abby Wolterman and senior guard Jaci Jones started for the Norse, 11-20 finishers last season. Wolterman is an IUPUI transfer. Jones transferred from IU-Indianapolis.
The Norse take on nationally-ranked Kentucky next on Thursday in Lexington. The Wildcats are ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press preseason poll. Game time is 6 p.m.