By: Patrick McHugh, News Staff
News staff photos/Laura Pond
Members of the men’s basketball team went to the free throw line 33 times in last night’s contest against the University of Rhode Island (URI).
Unfortunately, the Huskies were not in the mood for freebies, as they missed 15 shots from the charity stripe, dropping a 79-67 decision in front of 1,708 spectators at Matthews Arena. The loss dropped Northeastern to 2-5 on the season, their fifth consecutive defeat.
“We left a ton of points on the free throw line this evening and lost our confidence once we got down,” head coach Bill Coen said. “When you’re playing a team like URI you can’t leave so many points at the line like that.”
Despite entering the contest shooting a respectable 71.1 percent on free throws, Northeastern shot only 54.5 percent Wednesday. In contrast, the Rams, who entered shooting 71.8 percent from the line, were 26 of 30 shooting free throws, an 86.7 percent average.
For the third consecutive game, the Huskies started strong, grabbing a 19-8 lead thanks to two 3-pointers from senior captain and guard Chaisson Allen. NU also had no problem breaking the full-court pressure put on by the visitors, converting on four fast-break layups in the opening six minutes.
As the game wore on, however, Coen’s squad had difficulty containing URI senior forward Delroy James, who led all scorers with 25 points. James, who entered the match averaging 21 points-per-game, was a target of Coen’s defense throughout.
“We made it a point to try and stop him, but you can only keep a great player down for so long,” Coen said.
Despite the defeat, Northeastern saw its most balanced scoring effort of the season and five players scored in double-figures. Allen led the way with 17, sophomore forward Kauri Black added 13, sophomore guard Jonathan Lee chipped in 11 and sophomore guard Joel Smith and freshman forward Ryan Pierson scored 10 apiece.
Prior to last night’s defeat,m the team opened Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play, hosting Drexel at TD Garden Saturday. The contest, which also featured Boston College against UMass-Amherst, was part of the inaugural Boston Tip-Off Classic. The tournament benefits Children’s Hospital Boston and the Angel Fund, which supports ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Scleroisis) investigations at the Cecil B Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research. Despite a strong contingency of NU fans helping to make up the 10,642 in attendance, the Huskies fell 63-58.
Sophomore guard Chris Fouch seemed comfortable in the Boston Celtics’ home arena, scoring a game-high 27 points off the bench and hitting five 3-pointers to lead the Dragons to victory.
“It’s the Boston Garden,” Fouch said. “You don’t really need much to get hyped for this game. Coming in and shooting warm-ups I just tried to get the best feeling I could.”
Allen posted his fourth career double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort for Northeastern. Freshman forward Ryan Pierson tallied a career-high nine points and was effective early on, but saw limited playing time in the second half as Coen went with a smaller lineup.
Though his team trailed the entire second half, Coen said it had an opportunity to win but made too many miscues.
“We made some mental mistakes,” he said. “We’re a young club so that’s the next growth opportunity for us. It’s a journey for us, we know it’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re hoping that we’re playing our best basketball in January and February. In November and December we’re learning.”
With finals beginning for fall semester classes, the Huskies will have 13 days off before their next contest Dec. 22 against Saint Louis. The squad will play in the Cancun Governor’s Cup in Mexico Dec. 22-24, followed by the UCF Holiday Classic in Orlando, Fla., Dec 29 and 30.
Coen said with the time off he hopes his team grows a “stiff upper lip” and can maintain poise even when trailing.
“I think with young players you have to focus more on yourself,” he said. “With some time away from game action we’ll get back in the gym and get back to basics and try to build some confidence with young players.”
