By Jake Fischer, News Staff
Redshirt-junior forward Scott Eatherton leads the nation in double-doubles this season with 17, but he’ll have his hands full with Towson’s star big man, redshirt-senior Jerrelle Benimon Thursday, when the Huskies and Tigers square off at Matthews Arena. Benimon, a 6-foot 8-inch forward, is the reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year and is amidst an equally stellar season to that of Eatherton’s, leading the country in rebounding at 11.8 boards per game.
Benimon transferred to Towson from Georgetown and redshirted the 2011-12 campaign before taking the conference by storm en route to his hardware last March. Eatherton transferred to Northeastern and redshirted the 2012-13 campaign Benimon owned and is now similarly wreaking havoc in the CAA this winter.
Eatherton has averaged 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks on 56 percent shooting for the Huskies this season. Down in Maryland, Benimon is posting nightly averages of 18.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 52 percent from the field.
“I look forward to every game. I take pride in being one of the better big men in the conference,” Eatherton said. “I’m excited for tomorrow to try and get a win against a good team.”
The two mid-major stars certainly have their fair share in common. But there is one major difference: Benimon’s Tigers team is 18-9 on the season and 9-3 in the CAA while the Eatherton’s Huskies are just 9-18 overall and 6-7 in conference play thus far.
Both Towson and Northeastern are two of the best defensive squads in the CAA in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency, or points allowed per 100 possessions, according to kenpom.com, the statistical archive of college basketball, and whichever team can stop the other’s dynamic big man will likely emerge victorious this evening.
Northeastern did that when the two teams squared off in SECU Arena on Jan. 22. Head coach Bill Coen’s zone defensive schemes stifled Benimon, limiting him to 4 field goal attempts and a final line of 6 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
“Last time we just tried to run a zone around him to try to stop him and it worked,” Eatherton said. “We’re probably going to try and throw a lot of things at him and see how he handles it.”
Meanwhile, Eatherton posted 19 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 2 shots of his own as Northeastern escaped Towson unscathed with a last-second victory thanks to David Walker’s 30-foot buzzer-beating three-pointer.
Monday night, the Tigers thwarted the Delaware Blue Hen’s 13-game winning streak and undefeated start to CAA play. Benimon was a monster, finishing with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. It will primarily be Eatherton’s job to stop him tonight. The tough part is that Eatherton will simultaneously have to continue leading his team in scoring.
A win would bring the Huskies back to .500 in CAA play for the first time since Feb. 5.
