By Jake Sauberman, deputy sports editor
What was once an inspiring eight-game winning streak has soured into a three-game skid for the Northeastern University (NU) men’s basketball team.
Everything was clicking for the Huskies before they hit the road on Jan. 12 to face Towson University. There, the winning streak was snapped, but confidence remained high going into this past week. After all, NU was prepping to play two of the bottomfeeders of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA): University of Delaware and Hofstra University.
The Huskies previously played the Blue Hens on Jan. 5 in their most dominating victory of the season. They held a 58-18 lead at halftime and showed no mercy in the 90-54 win.
However, Delaware displayed a new energy on their home turf on Thursday, especially on the defensive end. Northeastern was limited in their offensive opportunities, resulting in a 62-69 loss. The Huskies, who lead the CAA in three-point percentage (39.9 percent) and are second in field goal percentage (47.9 percent), were held to just 39.1 percent and 42.6 percent, respectively.
The lone bright spot for Northeastern was standout senior guard T.J.Williams, who once again topped the 20-point mark in his 28 point showing. With his 21.9 points per game, he leads all CAA players in scoring, the next highest coming from University of North Carolina-Wilmington’s C.J. Brice at 17.1 points per game.
However, Williams’ measly one assist in 40 minutes of play spoke volumes about the performance of his teammates. No other Huskies got into the double digits in scoring, as Williams accounted for 45 percent of his team’s points.
Making matters worse, the Huskies continued to miss their free throws at an alarming rate, going 7-14 from the charity stripe. Despite the team’s usual efficiency from the field, their incompetence from the line remains a lasting enigma, ranking second-to-last in the CAA.
“We have left a ton of points on the free throw line and we’ve mishandled defensive and offensive execution at critical moments,” head coach Bill Coen said to GoNU.
Poor execution came back to haunt the Huskies once again, as they dropped another close game at Hofstra. Down by 15 points with 7:49 left to play, the red and black started to relentlessly attack the paint. Three consecutive layups by Williams, senior forward Alex Murphy and junior guard Devon Begley brought Hofstra’s lead down to nine.
Freshman guard Shawn Occeus hit two big threes to bring the game to 71-73 with 47 seconds left, and it looked like the momentum was in the Huskies’ court. But the Pride’s senior guard Deron Powers ran down the clock before hitting an and-one layup, effectively landing the nail in the coffin.
Overall, it was a better played game for NU. While Williams once again led the scoring effort with 25 points, this time he wasn’t alone. Murphy scored 18 on an efficient 6-8 shooting night, also chipping in nine rebounds and four assists. Begley, too, had a game of personal redemption, contributing 16 points and three steals.
“Devon has settled in nicely and become a good two-way player for us,” Coen said. “He is doing a good job on the defensive end as well as being able to score the ball. It is his comfort level within the system and knowing where he can get his opportunities on the offensive end.”
Despite the upgrade from no-show to a guest appearance from Williams’ supporting cast, the Huskies know they have to continue to improve to get back into the win column.
“I thought in both games we gave ourselves a chance to win but we didn’t make enough plays, get enough stops, make enough free throws in order to pull off victories on the road,” Coen said. “Obviously we aren’t playing our best basketball right now, but we are looking to get a little healthy and get back on the winning track.”
Coen is referring to the absence of 6’10” sophomore forward Jeremy Miller, who has been sidelined with a right knee injury since Northeastern’s win over Oakland on Dec. 20. A big part of their post offense and defense, the Huskies will surely receive a boost upon his return.
If nothing else, these upset losses have shown the Huskies just how fickle it is to be on the right side of the scoreboard when the final buzzer rings.
“The difference between winning and losing is a very fine line,” Coen said. “In order to win competitive basketball games on the road you have to be good in all […] areas.”
To get back to their old winning ways, the Huskies will have to get through Elon University on Thursday night before taking on Towson University on Saturday. Luckily, both games are hosted at friendly Matthews Arena, so Northeastern will have a chance to add on to their current 6-0 home record.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
