By Jared Shafran
After taking a 12 point lead at halftime, the Huskies were stunned by William ‘ Mary at the Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va., last night by a score of 55-53.
“We played hard from start to finish,” said head coach Bill Coen. “A lot of times it comes down to last-second plays in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and we were unable to earn a victory tonight.”
In the loss, sophomore center Nkem Ojougboh led the team with 14 points and six rebounds. It was his tenth straight game scoring in double digits.
The Huskies came out quick and opened up a nine-point advantage just eight minutes into the game. Sophomore guard Matt Janning hit two early three-pointers, propelling the team into a lead that they held until the last minute and a half of the game.
Using a 1-2-2 zone defense, the Huskies seemed to have the Tribe under control as they were making it hard to get shots off. Blocks by junior forward Chris Alvarez and Ojougboh gave the Huskies a strong defensive presence early in the game.
In a thrilling play at the end of the first half, Janning dished the ball to Ojougboh who put it through as time expired. This put the Huskies up by 12 and in a good position to keep it coming in the second.
In the first half, William ‘ Mary struggled, shooting just 7-23 from the floor. But the Tribe has been known for comebacks. Having already completed two double-digit comebacks this season, the Tribe came out of the locker room ready to get back into the game.
William ‘ Mary started off the second half with three straight three-pointers from Chris Darnell, Nathan Mann and David Schneider, giving them the early run they were looking for, and cutting the Huskies’ lead to just one point with 13 minutes to go.
With about seven minutes remaining, Darnell tied the game for the Tribe, but free throws by sophomore forward Manny Adako and Ojougboh quickly put NU back up.
Schneider hit a three pointer with a little more than three minutes left to pull the Tribe within one point of the Huskies.
Then, with 1:26 remaining, Chris Darnell converted on a field goal for the Tribe and was fouled, sending him to the line for a three-point play opportunity. He made the free throw to put the Tribe on top by a score of 55-53.
That would turn out to be the final score of the game, as the Huskies, who had two chances to tie as time ran down, could not come through.
For the second consecutive year, William ‘ Mary held the Huskies scoreless in the last three minutes of the game in a comeback win. Last season there was a similar occurrence in which the Tribe came back from nine points down to beat the Huskies who could not score at the conclusion of the game.
Janning finished with 11 points and Adako chipped in with 10 of his own in the loss.
Even though the outcome was not a favorable one, the Huskies still had a productive game. They shot 21 of 43 from the floor against a tough defense at William ‘ Mary and played a very aggressive first half.
“We had good energy and were sharp offensively,” Coen said. “We were able to execute our game plan but this league is unforgiving.”
The Achilles heel for the Huskies in this game was the turnovers, as they gave the ball away 18 times. These turnovers led to 18 points for the Tribe. William ‘ Mary only turned the ball over twice in the second half, helping them out tremendously in the win.
“We turned the ball over way too many times,” Coen said.
Northeastern, now 6-10 (2-4 CAA) will take on Delaware, one of the top teams in the CAA, Saturday in Matthews Arena at 5 p.m. The game will be televised by CN8.
