By Andrew Parente

The men’s basketball team extended its winning streak to four with a 51-42 win over William ‘ Mary Saturday at Matthews Arena.

The current streak is the longest this year from the Huskies and ties for the longest streak since head coach Bill Coen took over the men’s squad for the 2006-07 season.

The win also improves Northeastern to 11-12 on the season and 7-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). William ‘ Mary falls to 13-10, 9-4 CAA.

Sophomore center Nkem Ojougboh led the way for the Huskies with 15 points on six of nine shooting. Sophomore guard Matt Janning was also in double figures with 10 points.

The Tribe netted the first basket of the game at the 19:17 in the first half. Then, the Husky defense shut down the Tribe offense, not allowing another basket until 9:20.

During this time, Northeastern went on a 12-0 run to take a 12-2 lead, and never looked back. The run included three point baskets from Janning and freshman Chaisson Allen.

Both teams picked up the defense toward the end of the first half, until the Huskies were able to score five straight points with less than 20 seconds to play in the half.

Ojougboh took a contested three-point shot, but was able to get it to fall. Janning then stole the inbound pass and converted a lay-up as time expired, giving the Huskies a 25-15 lead into the half.

The second half saw both teams play very well defensively, forcing many turnovers and very little scoring.

Junior forward Eugene Spates tallied five straight points to put NU up by 13 early in the second half. A jump shot from Ojougboh gave the Huskies their biggest lead of the game, 38-23, with just more than 11 minutes to play.

The Tribe then cut back into the lead, going on a 7-0 run of their own. They got the lead down to as little as six points, but were unable to get any closer.

With about minute to play, Allen dished out his fifth assist of the game. He found Ojougboh wide open underneath the basket, which he easily slammed home.

Sophomore Baptiste Bataille then stole the ball and raced down the court for an easy lay-up to seal the win.

“I was extremely proud of our defensive effort today,” Coen said. “[William ‘ Mary] are a very difficult team to defend but I think we did a great job of contesting all their shots and keeping them in front of us today.”

The game was the lowest scoring contest of the year for the Huskies and was something that Coen had expecting coming into the game.

“It was a combination of both teams playing a very strong defensive game and not allowing many open looks,” Coen said. “Also, the tempo that they play out there, by utilizing the shot clock and limiting possessions, naturally the score goes down.”

Northeastern will look to extend its winning streak to five games when the team travels to Hempstead, N.Y., to take on Hofstra Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Last time out against the Pride at Matthews Arena, Hofstra senior Antoine Agudio scored 32 points in the 70-65 Husky loss.

“Agudio is a senior, been around the CAA and is a tremendous offensive player,” Coen said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make some adjustments and try and contain him but he is such a good player and that will not be easy to do.”

Northeastern will continue a brief two game road trip when they take on Georgia State Saturday before returning home Wednesday, Feb. 20 to battle Virginia Commonwealth at Matthews Arena at 7 p.m.