By Jared Shafran

Despite a slow start, the men’s basketball team came out with a win in its game against Drexel Saturday by a score of 63-40.

The win is the Huskies’ first at the Daskalakis Athletic Center since 1998, ending a string of six straight losses there. It’s also the first time Northeastern has beaten the Dragons twice in one season in 30 years.

Sophomore captain Matt Janning and junior forward Eugene Spates both finished with 19 points, tying for the team lead. On the defensive side of the ball, the Huskies held the Dragons to 23 percent from the floor, a season low for NU opponents.

Early on, both teams had major problems scoring points. With three minutes left in the first half, the score was 12-8 in favor of Drexel. Before the break, a big three pointer by Spates and a field goal by Janning gave Northeastern a 16-15 lead.

“We got some good looks in the first half but we just missed some shots that we normally would make,” said head coach Bill Coen. “We went out in the second half and hoped that our shots would drop.”

In the second half, the Huskies came out fast and never slowed down. They scored more points in the second half (47) than Drexel scored in the entire game.

At one point, the Huskies went on their biggest run of the season. A 24-0 run, spanning 10 minutes of the game, put the Huskies in the driver’s seat and allowed them to cruise to victory.

The run started with a three-pointer by Janning to tie the game at 23. Then freshman Chaisson Allen hit a bucket. Janning followed him up with another three of his own and before the Dragons could stop them, the Huskies were on a roll.

When the run finally ended 24 points later, the Huskies were up by a score of 44-23.

Spates’ performance was considered unexpected at the least due to his limited amount of playing time in the last couple of games due to performance. He made a career high eight rebounds in addition to his 19 points. Spates was six for 11 from the field and hit two three-pointers. He also went five for six from the line and racked up three steals with great defensive play.

“He has the potential to be a tremendous scorer and he has proven that in his first two years,” Coen said of Spates. “He was a bright spot for us off the bench and had some fresh legs for us coming off the bench tonight.”

One of the reasons for Drexel’s offensive struggles was the absence of star player and senior center Frank Elegar. Elegar made a game time decision to sit out due to back spasms.

Earlier this season, the Huskies had their largest victory of the year when they played the same Drexel team, beating them by a score of 79-45 at Matthews Arena.

“We used the same plan tonight that we used in Boston, which was definitely effective,” Coen said.

Drexel turned the ball over 21 times, and only hit 11 total field goals, proving that the Huskies defense was strong.

“Our defense turned up a notch and we got a lot of deflections and tips, which caused some turnovers and that was the difference,” Coen said.

This win combined with their last win on the road against Delaware gives the Huskies back-to-back wins in conference games on the road.

“I am proud of that accomplishment because those were two quality teams that we beat,” Coen said.

The Huskies’ next game is against Old Dominion at Matthews Arena Wednesday at 7 p.m.