Click.
That’s the sound of the Northeastern men’s basketball team finally starting to gel. With Saturday’s 85-55 win over the University of Maryland – Baltimore County and Wednesday’s 86-66 win over the University of Hartford, the Huskies improve to 15-8 overall and 11-3 in the America East.
Although their latest two wins came against Hartford (7-16, 3-11 AE) and UMBC (14-10, 9-14 AE), the fact that the squad beat two teams that have worse records is a good sign.
“I think they really showed the killer instinct,” said NU coach Ron Everhart. “I think we’re starting to put everything together.”
The Huskies went for the jugular against UMBC Saturday, shooting a season-high 58.5 percent from the field en route to the huge 30-point victory at the RAC Arena in Baltimore, Md.
The margin of victory is their most lopsided conference win since a 96-58 victory over Boston University in 1993.
NU wasted no time setting the tone, starting the game with a 17-3 run and shooting a red hot 6-for-8 from the floor. Senior guard Marcus Barnes went 3-for-3 from three-point range during that stretch and finished the game with a team high 22 points. Barnes is beginning to heat up, as he went 6-for-6 from downtown in the first half of Wednesday’s win.
“Anytime you get [Barnes] with his feet planted there’s a good chance the shot is going in,” Everhart said.
The Huskies finished the first half just as hot as they started it, going into the break having scored a season-high 48 points and allowing the Retrievers a season-low 21-points.
Barnes finished the first half with 18 points for the second straight game, going 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-5 from downtown.
Junior guard Jose Juan Barea had another stellar game, finishing with 21 points, on 8-for-13 shooting, with seven assists. Freshman forward Shawn James, who was named AE Rookie of the Week, didn’t miss a shot all game, going 8-for-8 from the floor while also snagging six rebounds and blocking seven shots. Sophomore forward Bennet Davis was a force on the glass for NU, pulling down 10 rebounds in helping the Huskies hold a 37-35 rebounding edge.
Although Wednesday night was the second time NU played Hartford this season (they beat them 82-69 Jan. 12), it was the first time the Hawks appeared on Huntington since they ousted NU from the AE tournament last year.
Sophomore guard Bobby Kelly scored six points on 3-for-3 shooting, but those three shots were highlight reel dunks that erupted the once-dormant Solomon Court.
James set career-highs in points with 23, and rebounds with 14 and added five blocks. Barea tied his career high with 14 assists, finishing just one shy of the school record of 15 set by Bill Loughnane against the University of Delaware on Dec. 29, 1977. The guard also added 15 second half points and finished the game with 17 overall.
After not hitting all his trifectors in the first half, Barnes cooled off in the second half, but still finished the game 6-for-10 from downtown for 18 points.
With 15 wins on the season the team is guaranteed its third straight winning season. Everhart becomes the first NU coach to accomplish that feat since former coach Karl Fogel had five consecutive winning seasons from 1986-87 to 1990-91.
The Huskies look to avenge a 67-60 Jan. 12 loss to the University of Maine when they play host to the Black Bears Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Solomon Court. The Black Bears, who were picked to finish ahead of NU in the preseason America East Coaches poll, are 11-12 overall and 6-8 in the AE.
