As a team, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County knew it faced a challenge when Northeastern visited its home court Saturday. Perhaps UMBC was on the lookout for shot blocking frontcourt man Shawn James. Or perhaps it was eyeing the lethal Husky backcourt duo of Marcus Barnes and Jose Juan Barea.
Either way, Barnes did his part to shake the morale of UMBC early and often, scoring 18 in the first half on 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from three point range.
A constant threat from anywhere on the offensive side of the court, the senior guard was the key component of an 85-55 Husky win. He has been named The Northeastern News Player of the Week.
“Marcus has a lot of pride and as a coach, that’s something you love to see your player have,” NU coach Ron Everhart said. “He takes it personally [when things go wrong]. He’s been in the gym more, he’s shooting more; that’s something I’ve loved seeing.”
Barnes finished with a game-high 22 points while also finishing 8-of-12 total on field goals. The Huskies moved 27 points ahead before the end of the first half (48-21) and never looked back in the most lopsided conference win for the team since a 96-58 win over Boston University in the 1992-93 season.
If UMBC hoped to stop any Husky offensive attack early, it did not work. NU stormed out to a whopping 17-3 lead, while Barnes hit three three-pointers during the stretch on just three attempts.
“With the way we’ve played, he’s been an important part of our offense,” Everhart said. “He’s been making his open shots.”
Barnes, a native of Miami, Fla., is fifth in America East in scoring (16.1) and second in three-pointers made (59). This season, he scored a season-high of 25 against Binghamton University in a 75-68 win.
Against SUNY Albany in a 73-70 win, the guard single-handedly brought NU the win, accumulating 11 of the Huskies’ final 12 points, while registering a team-high 19. Barnes was also instrumental in Wednesday’s 86-66 win over the University of Hartford, where his six three-pointers in a half tied his own team record.
Last year in Barnes’ first season as a Husky, the guard averaged 17 points per game, third in the conference. He also set a single-season school record for three-pointers made (81) and attempted (241).
Barnes played his first two seasons of collegiate basketball at the University of Miami where as a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals. He made a name for himself early in his freshman year, when he was named Big East Rookie of the Week on Jan. 22, 2001 after scoring a season-high 24 points vs. then No. 15 University of Connecticut.
— Staff writer Jeff Powalisz
