By Jake Fischer, News Staff
Demetrius Pollard bent his knees and launched a 22-foot bomb from three-point land. In the grand scheme of the game, this wasn’t a momentous occasion. The contest wasn’t on the line, in fact, there was 16:35 remaining in the second half. But this three-pointer was a rarity, as Pollard, a junior guard, didn’t hesitate before he lofted that jumper. Yes, the fans in the N Zone cheered as it ripped through the net, but they should have burst into hysteria the second the ball left Pollard’s fingertips.
This season, under head coach Bill Coen’s new offensive system, Northeastern’s guards never look for their own scoring opportunity. The second they receive the ball, their first instinct is to look down to the block to try and feed junior forwards Scott Eatherton and Reggie Spencer. The two big men have been excellent this season, but the perimeter players’ constant deference to their taller teammates has caused the Huskies’ overall offensive production to dip and those guards’ individual developments to disappear.
Wednesday night was different however, as Pollard’s triple gave the Huskies a 39-36 advantage. Northeastern would never trail the rest of the game in its 79-68 overtime-victory over UNCW.
“Demetrius is one of our most experienced guards coming back, he’s been in these wars before and we needed him to step up tonight,” Coen said. “We need that kind of inside-out balance.”
The Huskies struggled through a very challenging non-conference slate, going 3-11 against a schedule ranked the 17th most difficult in the nation. While each game brought a new task for the team, one constant remained: a porous half-court offense that was difficult to watch when games slowed down in the final minutes.
Heading into the team’s Colonial Athletic Association conference opener against the Seahawks, Coen knew his team needed a spark and more contributions from his back court outside of sophomore guard David Walker.
“[Scott Eatherton, Reggie Spencer and David Walker] have been so good for us, they’ve all done a great job, but we do need some other contributions down the line and I think those guys are ready to step up,” Coen said during Tuesday’s weekly CAA coaches teleconference.
Coen started junior guard Marco Banegas-Flores for just the third time this season over freshman T.J. Williams. The move didn’t necessarily pay dividends in the first half, but the Huskies did take a 25-19 lead into the Matthews Arena home locker room at halftime.
And when the second half began, UNCW stormed out to a 10-0 run to grab its first lead of the contest. Coen’s role players awoke shortly after. Pollard hit several from outside. Williams looked to drive. Even sophomore guard Zach Stahl, who has frankly been a non-contributor of late, chipped in 6 points in the second period. Even so, when the buzzer sounded, Northeastern and UNCW were tied at 58 and the game headed to overtime. The offense evaporated after grabbing a 58-50 lead with 53 seconds remaining.
In the extra five minutes, Coen finally saw his team play aggressively on offense from the perimeter. Walker drove in for two layups and Williams got to the line on a drive as well. Quite frankly, it was a different Huskies team.
“We’re getting into CAA play. It’s a brand new season for us,” Coen said. “I thought we showed tremendous mental toughness to hang on after letting it get away from us in the final seconds of regulation. We earned ourselves a quality win today.”
Coen will need his club to continue to attack on the offensive end if they hope to be a threat for the CAA regular season conference crown for the second year in a row. The Huskies will have a chance on Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia to battle Drexel.
