By Max Lederman
After starting the season 0-2, the Northeastern men’s basketball team finished their tough, season-opening four game road trip with two impressive wins against Louisiana Monroe and West Virginia, giving them a 2-2 record on the infant season.
Then, the Huskies trounced Suffolk University in their home opener, 98-56, for their third straight win Tuesday night at Solomon Court.
The news wasn’t all rosy, though. Sophomore phenom and preseason All-Conference guard Jose Juan Barea received word before Tuesday’s game that he tore the meniscus in left knee two weeks ago against Rhode Island and will miss at least three to four weeks, possibly the entire season.
For the second straight season, the Huskies defeated a Big East opponent (they beat BC last year) when they edged West Virginia Saturday night, 91-84. Marcus Barnes led the Huskies with 31 points, on his way to being named the conference Player of the Week, while his back court partner Barea, dropped 19 to go along with his career high 10 assists in the winning effort. Javorie Wilson scored 15 and dished three, while Sylbrin Robinson led the team in rebounds and steals with 12 and three respectively. It’s a great accomplishment for a program like NU to beat a Big East opponent for the second straight year, but Coach Ron Everhart knows that non-conference wins don’t count, no matter how sweet they are.
“The big thing is that we’re just trying to get prepared for the conference,” said Everhart. “Anything we do in our preseason is geared towards preparing us to win the America East; we can’t go to the NCAA tournament if we finish in second or third.”
Last Tuesday night at Valley High School in their third and final game of the Las Vegas Invitational, the Huskies got their first win of the season by thrashing Louisiana Monroe, 81-65. The Huskies jumped out to an early 17-1 lead, and held the Indians (0-3) to just 16 percent shooting in the first half. A pleasant surprise for the Huskies was freshman Bennett Davis who recorded his first career double-double, with 11 points and 12 boards. He also had three blocks, and was named America East rookie of the week.
“Despite missing two weeks of preseason workouts, Bennet has played really well for us,” Everhart said. “I think he’s going to be a real good player for us when its all said and done.”
Barea and Robinson each scored 14 to lead the Dogs in scoring, while Jose dished out five assists to go with his three steals and Robinson pulled down eight boards.
In front of 8,247 people at the Peoria Civic Center last Sunday, the Huskies were handed their second straight loss when they lost to host Bradley, 92-86.
“It was packed there, but we almost had it,” Everhart said. “We had to foul them in the end and they went up by six.”
The Dogs were out rebounded 53-37 in the losing effort. Barnes again led the Huskies in scoring with 20 points to go along with his season high eight rebounds and three assists. Barea and Wilson added 18 points apiece and Barea dished out six assists. Senior forward Jesse Dunn went 3-5 from behind the arc on his way to a season high 14 points, but the team as a whole shot just 37.5 percent from the 3-point line.
In their much-anticipated season opener, the Huskies got off on the wrong foot two Fridays ago when they lost to A-10 opponent URI, 89-77.
The final score may paint a “not so bad” picture, but the game was never in reach, as NU seemed to feel the effects of the raucous crowd and at one point trailed the Rams by 26 points.
Shooting percentage-wise, both teams were pretty much equal, but the Rhode Island defense limited the Huskies to just 58 shots, compared to its 75.
As he has for three of the first four games this season, Barnes led the team in scoring, with 20 points while Barea and Wilson each added 17.
Ball control was a major factor in the game as the Northeastern starters combined for 22 of the its 23 turnovers while the URI starting five had just 10 of the its 17.
The Huskies return to action on Saturday at 7 p.m. when they visit Fordham.
