By Matthew MacCormack, news correspondent
The Northeastern men’s basketball team had its most successful November in program history with five wins. After taking down Boston University and Florida State University in the opening week of the season, the Huskies (5-2) enjoyed another successful stretch over the past fortnight.
On Nov. 22 and 23, NU participated in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff, a regular season tournament that gathered teams at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The Husky ballers cruised, defeating the United States Naval Academy and Manhattan College en route to a tournament title.
The team then returned to its home state for Thanksgiving break, suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst the day before Thanksgiving, then rebounding with a convincing win over Fairfield University on Saturday. Harvard University hosted NU on Wednesday and was too much for the Husky’s defense to handle.
All the action began at Mohegan Sun, where the Huskies earned their first in-season tournament title since 2009. In the first round of the tourney, NU dismantled Navy 68-44. After a slow start in the opening minutes, the Huskies hit a second gear, ending the game with their largest margin of victory (24 points) in five seasons.
Despite looking a tad sluggish at first, Northeastern was fueled by a 20-5 run that spanned the end of the first half and carried over into the second. Redshirt senior forward Scott Eatherton led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds, and redshirt junior forward Quincy Ford chipped in 8 points and 7 rebounds. Junior guard and rebounding ace Zach Stahl was able to pull down eight additional boards, helping the Huskies end the game with a 38-16 advantage on the glass.
The next day, the tournament championship pitted Northeastern against the Jaspers of Manhattan, who had defeated Binghamton University in their first-round game. Stahl helped ignite an imposing 25-6 first-half run with some energy plays, and the Huskies held a 44-24 advantage at the half. Then, things got a little more interesting.
The Jaspers held NU scoreless for six straight minutes in the early-to-mid second half and managed to cut the lead to 14. However, the Huskies would hold on, led once again by Eatherton (22 points, eight rebounds) and Stahl (16 and eight). NU shot an impressive 55 percent from the field while holding Manhattan to a paltry 38 percent clip, as the Huskies marched to a 65-51 victory. Bill Coen, now in his ninth season as the head coach, was pleased with the way the team performed in the tournament.
“We’re working to learn from this tournament experience,” Coen said. “We played against some great programs and great coaches and great competitors, so it’s something that’ll help us build our confidence going forward.”
After three days off, the Huskies hit the hardwood again on Nov. 26 at the Mullins Center in Amherst. As a menacing snowstorm pounded the UMass campus, conditions looked equally bleak for the Huskies. After earning a six-seed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament last season, UMass proved to be a tough test for the visiting Huskies.
Led by redshirt junior guard Derrick Gordon (13 points, seven rebounds) and senior center Cady Lalanne (12 and six), the Minutemen laid a 79-54 beat-down on Northeastern. Despite shooting just 30 percent in the first 15 minutes of the half, NU went into halftime looking at a manageable 36-24 deficit. Things only got worse, however, as UMass capitalized on Husky mistakes, scoring 27 points off of NU’s 20 turnovers. Junior guard David Walker (14 points, three assists) and sophomore point guard T.J. Williams (12 points, five rebounds) played well for NU in the loss.
The Huskies returned to Boston and got back on track on Saturday with a win over Fairfield. Northeastern never trailed in the game, earning its fifth win in November for the first time in school history.
NU’s stifling defense kept Fairfield in check in the first 20 minutes, as the Stags were limited to just 16 points on 24 percent shooting in the opening half. Fairfield did claw back slightly and was able to cut the lead to seven with 53 seconds left in the game. Nonetheless, the Huskies held on for a 57-48 victory. Eatherton once again proved to be pivotal, chipping in 18 points and seven boards from the forward spot. Stahl and Williams combined for 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Walker (five assists) was an effective distributor in the win.
The most notable aspect of this slew of games was the dominance of Eatherton. The senior, who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds last year while garnering Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Year honors, put up 17.5 points per contest in the four-game stretch. Alongside senior forward Reggie Spencer and Ford, Eatherton has helped make up a formidable front line for Northeastern.
“Our frontcourt is very experienced and very deep and that’s really the strength of our team,” Coen said.
On Wednesday, Northeastern faced Harvard University, but fell 60-46. The Huskies trailed by five going into halftime, but the Crimson outscored the Huskies by nine in the second half to get the win. Northeastern shot 33 percent on field goals to Harvard’s 52 percent. With the loss, the Huskies now have a record of 5-2.
The team play its next game against Western Michigan University at 4 p.m. at Matthews Arena on Saturday. After the 5-2 start, Coen feels confident moving forward with his unselfish, resilient squad.
“This group is a resilient group, and they want to be good,” he said. “They like each other, and they share the basketball.”
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
