By Matthew MacCormack, news staff
With the 2014-15 regular season nearing its close, the Northeastern men’s basketball team claimed two momentous victories over conference opponents this week.
NU (19-10) conquered a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rivals which had defeated the Huskies earlier in the season. Last Wednesday, NU rode a lights-out shooting performance to an easy 75-64 home victory over the College of William & Mary (17-10). The Huskies then defeated the Drexel University Dragons 83-73 in an overtime clash on Saturday afternoon. Saturday also marked Senior Day for the team and senior forwards Scott Eatherton and Reggie Spencer played their final games at Matthews Arena.
Despite the senior recognition, it was junior guard David Walker who sparked the Husky success. Walker averaged 23 points and 5.5 assists in the two-game series. The pair of wins put NU in a four-way tie at the top of the CAA with two games remaining.
William & Mary is one of the quartet vying for the No. 1 seed. The Tribe rolled into Matthews on Wednesday without starting sophomore guard Daniel Dixon, who was out with a hamstring injury. Still, the duo of senior guard Marcus Thornton and junior forward Terry Tarpey, who combined for 34 points and eight assists, was enough to keep William & Mary competitive.
A Husky victory, however, was never in doubt.
“We played a very crisp game of basketball,” Head Coach Bill Coen said.
The Black and Red shot 64 percent in the first half and 59 percent in the game.
NU hit five 3-pointers, including two each by Walker and redshirt junior forward Quincy Ford, in the first six minutes of the game. The Huskies established a 19-6 lead in that time and got 15 of the game’s first 16 rebounds.
Northeastern maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half, before a late run by the Tribe put the half-time score at 37-28.
William & Mary’s Thornton hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven early in the second half. NU responded with a 23-11 run, punctuated by Walker’s fourth triple of the evening. The run gave NU its biggest lead of the evening, 63-44, with seven minutes to play. Solid free-throw shooting down the stretch led the Huskies to their 75-64 victory.
Walker was electric against the Tribe with 21 points, seven assists and two steals on six-of-nine shooting. Coen was impressed by Walker’s overall effort, specifically his distribution of the basketball. Alongside sophomore point guard T.J. Williams, Walker was an effective floor general.
“We need to rely on playmaking to be a good basketball team,” Coen said. “When you have two guys out there that can both score the ball and distribute, it makes your offense that much more dynamic.”
Next, the Dragons of Drexel stopped by Matthews for a Saturday matinée that proved to be arguably the most exciting game of the NU season.
Drexel junior guard Damion Lee, a candidate for CAA Player of the Year, dropped 30 points and collected five rebounds for the Dragons Saturday. Lee’s heroic performance wasn’t enough, however, as Walker poured in a career-high 25 points and five assists to lead NU to an overtime victory.
The matchup between the two scorers was impressive. Walker was tasked with defending Lee, who needed to hoist a season-high 28 shots to get his 30 points.
“First of all, he’s a great player and going into the game you know he’s gonna take a bunch of shots and he’s gonna make tough ones,” Walker said. “You just gotta stay down, chase him, just play with a lot of energy and challenge all his shots and hope that he misses them.”
Seniors Spencer and Eatherton led the way in the first half of the Senior Day battle, combining for 15 points in the first 20 minutes to give NU a 33-26 lead at the half.
The half ended on a high-note for the Huskies. With just seconds remaining, junior forward Zach Stahl (eight points, four rebounds) threw a full-court baseball pass to Walker, who caught the ball and converted a buzzer-beating jumper.
Momentum stayed with NU for most of the second half. Walker had two dunks which built a 61-50 lead with 3:14 to play.
The Dragons didn’t go down easily. Sophomore guard Tavon Allen scored eight points in a quick 10-1 run that put Drexel one point behind with 1:06 to play.
Eatherton (10 points, six rebounds) was fouled on the ensuing Husky position. The senior hit one of two free throws, leaving the door open for Drexel with 31 seconds to play.
On Drexel’s final possession, Lee drove to the basket. His layup attempt missed, but sophomore forward Mohamed Bah grabbed the rebound. Bah converted a layup and was fouled, giving Drexel a chance to win with 0.7 seconds remaining, but he missed the free throw. The teams headed to overtime, locked at 62.
Coen called two timeouts in an attempt to freeze Bah before the potential game-clincher.
“It was really the only thing we had left; a timeout to make him think about it a little bit,” Coen said. “We got on the right side of that.”
With luck on their side, the Huskies dominated the overtime. Ford (15 points, seven rebounds, three assists) hit two 3-pointers, and Walker connected on all nine of his free throw attempts in the extra frame. NU won 83-73.
“I thought we had the game in hand coming down the stretch in regulation and almost let it slip away, but it’s a tribute to these guys here that they believe in themselves and they believe in their teammates,” Coen said. “It made for a special ending.”
The ending was doubly special as it helped Eatherton, Spencer and senior Manager Danny Young end their Matthews Arena careers in victory.
Eatherton and Spencer, both co-captains, said they weren’t caught up in the moment.
“I don’t think it’s really kicked in yet,” Eatherton said. “Matthews is a special place for us. We really like playing here.”
Spencer agreed, saying, “It’s bittersweet. I’ve been here four years, and had a lot of good wins here being with these guys, but I don’t think it’ll really kick in until the season’s actually over.”
In the press conference after the game, Coen thanked his seniors but didn’t offer any parting words.
“There’s a lot of basketball left to be played, so I’m not gonna say my goodbyes now,” Coen said. “But on senior day, I just want to say ‘thank you’ to these guys.”
The Husky seniors’ last home game was almost a loss in the final seconds. According to Coen, one should only expect more wild finishes as the CAA tournament approaches.
“Guys have to step up and make plays and make shots, and that’s the excitement of March Madness,” Coen said. “Today we got the trailer version of what’s coming down the road.”
Photo by Brian Bae
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