The Northeastern men’s basketball team (4-6) edged out Old Dominion University (3-5) at home Dec. 2, defeating the Monarchs 81-68 in a game that brought a flurry of intense play.
In a game riddled with fouls, the Huskies set school records for 51 attempted free throws and 40 made free throws, breaking previous records of 49 and 39, respectively.
Regardless of the persistent rough play, Northeastern graduate student guard Luka Sakota led the team with 18 points and 11 free throws made. Sophomore guard Masai Troutman, sophomore guard Harold Woods and sophomore forward Jared Turner also poured in 14 points each to clinch a win against the Monarchs.
Turner and Woods defended the boards well as they both scooped up a team-high of seven rebounds.
Right from the jump, the Huskies churned out a strong performance as Turner’s three-pointer and Alexander Nwagha’s fast-break slam dunk quickly ignited the floor in the first half.
Despite Old Dominion’s explosive penetration within the paint and strong offensive rebounding, foul trouble challenged the Monarchs early as they found themselves giving up bonus shots halfway through the first half.
For the Huskies, timely defensive stops and taking advantage of ODU’s foul trouble were imperative parts of the win over the Monarchs.
“On the defensive end, we tried to stay out of foul trouble,” said head coach Bill Coen in a press conference. “Once the refs start calling that many fouls, you know the game’s going to get called a little bit more tightly. We tried to mix in a little bit of zone defense to prevent us from falling into the same trap. I’m proud of our guys for continuing to attack and finish at the rim.”
Prior to the game, Coen’s primary goal was to limit ODU’s Chaunce Jenkins. Jenkins, a junior guard for the Monarchs, came into the matchup averaging nearly 18 points per game.
“Jenkins is obviously a focal point for their team, so, in our preparation, we knew that he was the guy that could really hurt you,” Coen said. “We wanted to make sure that he didn’t get comfortable early, so we rotated a few guys on him to try to keep him out of rhythm, and it worked.”
Jenkins finished the game with a season-low of 12 points.
By halftime, Northeastern secured a solid advantage of 40-33, fueled by its 50% field goal shooting (11-22), 43% three-point shooting (3-7) and 62.5% free-throw line shooting (15-24).
Early in the second half, the Huskies took a game-high 13-point lead.
Yet, a disruption of play — the ejection of the Monarchs’ head coach, Jeff Jones, following a fervent yelling match with the refs — empowered ODU to slowly come back and regain a four-point lead with less than four minutes left.
Regardless of the chippy atmosphere, the Huskies stayed committed to maintaining their composure and executing their game plan.
“It was probably one of the most unique games I’ve been a part of in my college career,” Sakota said. “Once their coach got ejected, coach Coen told us that we had to remain calm throughout the chaos and to make sure we didn’t lose our heads.”
The Huskies gradually narrowed the gap, capitalizing on defensive stops and forcing seven turnovers from the Monarchs.
With a late-game four-point play from Troutman and graduate forward Chris Doherty’s contribution of three more points, Northeastern was able to regain the lead to 77-66.
In a game that was neck and neck for most of the duration, the Huskies concluded the contest on top, nearly doubling Old Dominion’s free throw percentage, 78.4% to 44%, respectively.
Northeastern also finished the game shooting an overall 41.9% from the floor and 33.3% from three-point range.
“We are getting better every game,” Troutman said. “I feel like we could be a couple of games ahead, but despite that, we are getting better and bouncing back every time we play. I’m proud of this team.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Huskies narrowly lost 73-71 to the University of Vermont Catamounts at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern will play its next game Dec. 16 against the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
