By Max Nagel, News Correspondent
Last time William & Mary and Northeastern met Feb. 11, the Huskies walked away with a 79-54 defeat. The two lines will tip off one more time in Richmond, Va., for the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament tomorrow night.
“Last time we played William & Mary, we were not firing on any cylinders,” head coach Bill Coen said. “They played the game with a lot of energy and if we want to compete with them on Friday we are going to have to match that energy. They’ve been playing great basketball these past few weeks and they will be ready to play in the tournament, we need to do the same.”
William & Mary has the No. 10 seed in the CAA, finishing their season 4-14 in conference play and 6-25 overall. Northeastern grabbed the No. 7 seed, up from last year’s 10th spot.
Freshmen guards Quincy Ford, Demetrius Pollard and forward Reggie Spencer earned court time with their output. Ford and Spencer played in all 29 games and were the team’s third and fourth highest scorers, putting up 322 and 201 points, respectively. Pollard played in only 18 games and scored 30 points.
“We have great team chemistry and it allows us to make the right plays,” junior guard Joel Smith said following the 70-51 win against Towson University Feb. 14.
Over the course of the 2011-12 season, Northeastern picked up four out of conference wins. Early season victories include an 82-74 overtime win at America East against No. 3 Boston University in their first game of the season. The Huskies also grabbed a 64-57 home win against Southern Illinois University on Nov. 19. In their final home game of the year, they took down CAA No. 3 George Mason University in an 85-82 overtime thriller.
The Huskies took on American East’s top seed Stony Brook in the Sears BracketBusters Feb. 18, losing by seven points, 76-69.
These games are stepping stones for success at the CAA tournament. Last year, when Coen and his players headed south to Richmond, they were knocked out in the first round by No. 7 University of Delaware.
“We have to approach the tournament with the mindset of, ‘we are going to win this,’” Coen said. “We have to have that kind of confidence when going down there. Winning is our only chance at a bid into the NCAA tournament, which would be a great accomplishment. Obviously, it’s tough to win four games in four days, but that is why we have the season, to prepare for this event.”
In preparation for the tournament, players used the season to push both their personal records and Northeastern’s all-time records.
In the end of his third year, junior guard Joel Smith is the sixth most successful three point shooter in Husky basketball history, after making 68 three point shots this season, pushing his career total 156 shots made. Smith finished with 374 points (12.9 points per game) on the season.
Junior guard Jonathan Lee’s 424 points (14.6 points per game) with 46 three pointers garnered him the title of lead scorer for the Huskies this year. Lee also lead the team in assists with 104.
If the Huskies defeat William & Mary in their first game on Friday night, they will face No. 2 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on Saturday. Last year, VCU was the runner up in the CAA Tournament, advanced to the Final Four in the NCAA.
“I expect great things out of my whole team,” Coen said. “We’ve been working hard all season and the energy that the crowd down in Richmond provides is great for the players to feed off of. Without saying, we are going to face great teams, with great coaching, it will just be about who wins, game by game. The CAA Tournament is an excellent tournament, with great basketball and very talented players competing for a championship.”
The Huskies left for Richmond last night, giving them a day to prepare for their 6 p.m. game Friday night.
