By Anthony Gulizia, News Staff

Going into the Huskies contest against La Salle University, men’s basketball coach Bill Coen said he was concerned about his team’s ball-handling skills.

His pre-game concerns materialized at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia as the Huskies committed 22 turnovers in a 68-51 loss to the Explorers last night.

The loss drops NU to 3-2 on the season.

“They have terrific on-ball defenders, and they caused us to hurry shots and really kept us from getting a clean look all night,”  Coen told WRBB after the loss. “They switched ball screens, and did a very effective job and kept us off balance. We started the game and second half well, but lost momentum both times.”

The Huskies were down 24-18 at the end of the first half, but the Explorers hit seven 3-pointers in the second half to pull away with the commanding win.

Earl Pettis led the way for La Salle, scoring 15 points and shot 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. Three more players reached double digits for the Explorers, including guards Ramon Galloway (14) and Tyreek Duren (13), along with forward Jerrell Wright (11).

“When they put Pettis at the four, they really have four perimeter shooters,” Coen said. “They space the floor, and if you give any help at all, they have pretty good ball movement. They play it off their post and have four experienced guards, and that gave us some trouble.”

Junior guard Jonathan Lee led the Huskies with 11 points, while senior Kashief Edwards chipped in 10. Freshman forward Reggie Spencer continued his impressive rookie campaign, scoring 10 points and pulling in eight rebounds.

The Huskies shot just 32 percent from the field and Pettis, who had four steals, gave the Huskies the most trouble.

“It puts too much pressure on the freshmen to come in and execute if your experienced players don’t have a good game,” Coen said. “Once you beat St. John’s, you’re not going to sneak up on your next opponent. They’re going to come ready and to La Salle’s credit, they did that.”

Saturday, Northeastern took on 6-foot-9-inch forward God’sgift Achiuwa and St. John’s University, but it was junior guard Joel Smith who displayed his divine skills from beyond the arc, shooting 7-12 from 3-point range to help the Huskies win 78-64.

“I wasn’t able to get involved in the first couple of games and coach Coen just told me to calm down,” Smith said after his 29-point performance. “We knew the weak spots were the corner, but [St. John’s] is a great defensive team. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Smith posted career highs for points scored, field goals made (10) and 3-point field goals made with seven, which is the second-most in school history. Dallas Mavericks guard and NU sharpshooter Jose Juan Barea also hit seven against Maine in 2004.

“Joel made a ton of shots,” Coen said. “He’s our primary 3-point threat and we knew we were going to face a lot of zone, and we were hoping to get him loose for a couple early looks.”
Smith opened the game by connecting on his first three 3-point attempts to help the Huskies on an 11-2 run. The junior guard shot 3-for-5 from deep to help NU take a 33-31 halftime lead, and continued to torch the nets in the second half, shooting 4-for-7.

Despite 17 points from Achiuwa and 16 from guard Nurideen Lindsey, the Red Storm held the lead for just 37 seconds.

Smith added 10 rebounds for the Huskies to record his second double-double of the season, while Lee chipped in with 17 points, Black with 12 and Edwards with seven.

Prior to Thanksgiving break, Northeastern hosted Southern Illinois Nov. 19 and pulled away with a 64-57 win.

Lee led all scorers with 24 points, while Black added 13.

The Huskies will host Old Dominion University Saturday at 1 p.m. in their first Colonial Athleticc Association matchup of the season. All attendees are encouraged to wear their ugliest holiday sweaters to the game.

“The league is so competitive,” Coen said. “There are a few teams picked in the upper echelon and what we’re trying to do is go out and challenge the best in the country.  [St. John’s] was great preparation for that challenge.”