There’s a buzz in the air on Huntington Avenue, surrounding the Northeastern men’s basketball team, who have won six-of-seven games since Jan. 5. With wins over Stony Brook University, 65-56, and Binghamton University, 69-59, NU remains in a tie with Boston University for second place behind the University of Vermont.
It’s not out of the ordinary for the Ron Everhart-led Huskies to be among the elite teams in the conference; the Dogs were 7-3 in the conference at this time last year. And although they have a slightly better America East record this year at 8-2, the wins aren’t causing the buzz.
The Huskies are not only winning the games they are supposed to win this year, they are winning the closely contested games as well, something they couldn’t seem to do in previous years.
The fans that are packing Solomon Court aren’t just seeing winning basketball this season; they are witnessing exciting basketball, the kind of stuff Northeastern students of old could only find at the FleetCenter or on ESPN.
Although it was an away game, Sunday’s win over the Binghamton Bearcats was a perfect example of exciting basketball. The Huskies received their usual dose of flashy playmaking by junior guard Jose Juan Barea, who scored a game-high 17 points to go with eight assists. And the startlingly ordinary six blocks from freshman forward Shawn James, who replaced Reggie Lewis, the most prolific player in school history, as Northeastern’s all-time single season block leader. Lewis, an eight-time NBA all-star, blocked 67 shots during the 1985-86 season. James, who also scored 14 points and was named the America East Rookie of the Week, has 70 blocks on the season and his 5.4 blocks per game is the second highest mark in the nation.
The Huskies had an all-around team effort in the win, also receiving double figure point outputs from Aaron Davis, 14, and Marcus Barnes, 15. Barea, who was named the America East co-Player of the Week, overcame eight turnovers to lead his team to victory down the stretch.
With 2:21 left in the game and the Bearcats trying desperately to mount a late charge, Barea performed one of his signature acrobatic layups while being fouled, and converted the three-point play by hitting the ensuing free-throw. The Huskies maintained the lead for the rest of the way.
“I think our improved play is due to [Barea] maturing and [Barnes] being a senior,” Everhart said. “But I still haven’t seen us put together a full 40-minute game like I know we are capable of.”
Barea scored 16 first-half points in Wednesday night’s 65-56 win over Stony Brook at Solomon Court and finished the game with a game-high 25 points, saving the Huskies from a sub-par defensive performance.
“We moved the ball down the stretch on the fastbreak and in the half court,” Everhart said. “But I’m not really excited about the way we’re playing right now.”
Barea’s killer instinct was a crucial factor in the win.
“Coach was telling me to attack because they don’t guard the drive very well,” Barea said. “We didn’t want them to set up their zone.”
Although his stats may not reveal it, freshman forward Marcus Washington drew two huge charges in the second half.
“I wanted to help out our guards,” Washington said. “I knew it was time to step up.”
Washington converted three-of-four shots from the field for six points.
The Huskies will learn a lot about how far this team will go with two huge road games this week. They’ll play the University of New Hampshire for the first time this season on Wednesday night and look to avenge a 75-60 loss to the University of Vermont this Saturday in Burlington.
