By Andrew Parente
Sophomore guard Matt Janning went a perfect eight for eight shooting and sophomore center Nkem Ojougboh turned in a season-high 20 points as the men’s basketball team rolled over Drexel 79-45 last night at Matthews Arena.
Janning converted every shot from the floor, including two from three-point range, totaling 21 points.
“I don’t know what it was,” Janning said. “I just felt really good tonight.”
Northeastern had two other players scoring in double-digits, with sophomore Manny Adako and freshman Chase Allen each netting 12 points.
The 34 point win is Northeastern’s greatest margin of victory this year. The team shot 58 percent from the floor, also a season high.
“Every once in a while, you run into one of those nights where every bounce goes your way,” said head coach Bill Coen. “We were very fortunate to make some early shots, which gave us some confidence and we picked up our energy on the defensive side as well.”
The Huskies came out of the gate converting on their first six shots. That, along with tough defense sparked a 14-2 run.
Adako converted his first four shots from the floor to help add to the Huskies’ lead, but collected two fouls and was unavailable the remainder of the half.
Drexel began to climb back into the game and trailed by only six points at the eight minute mark. But the Huskies responded coming out of the media timeout and went on a 7-0 run that included baskets from Janning and Allen.
The sophomore captain also showed his defensive skills as he blocked what appeared to be an easy lay-up. Northeastern turned that play into three points as Allen hit a shot from the corner bringing the run to 10-0.
“Matt is playing with a lot of passion and he has tremendous leadership qualities,” Coen said. “He’s done a great job of taking a young team and giving them a lot of focus.”
The Huskies brought their run to 16-0 and they went into the half in complete control leading 43-19.
As the second half started, Husky domination continued as they never allowed Drexel to get back into the game.
A scare for the team occurred with just under 14 minutes to play when Janning went down after going for a loose ball. The sophomore walked off the court under his own power and returned to the court only minutes later.
“I was a little dazed for a minute but I’m alright,” Janning said.
Ojougboh continued playing strong for the Huskies as his 20 points came on six of eight shooting from the floor. He also converted on eight of his 11 free throws.
Allen continued his impressive freshman campaign as he dished out a team-high five assists and pulled down seven rebounds.
The Huskies also took good care of the ball during their possessions with only 13 turnovers, a season-low. Drexel center Frank Elegar has been a thorn for the Huskies in their last few meetings but tonight the defense was able to hold to just two points on free throws and only three shot attempts from the floor.
“[Elegar] is a terrific player and we were just conscience of where he was all over the floor,” Coen said. “We were able to limit his touches tonight but when he got the ball, he is still Frank Elegar, but I thought we did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands.”
With this win, Northeastern improves to 6-8, 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Drexel falls to 8-8, and 1-3 in the CAA.
“We realize that this is just one conference game and this is a marathon season,” Coen said. “You have to continually look to improve and we’ll start preparing for our next game right after this.”
The Huskies will return to action Saturday when they travel south to take on George Mason at 2 p.m. Northeastern will return home Jan. 19 to take on Delaware at 5 p.m. at Matthews Arena.
