by P.J. Wright
TOWSON, M.D. — Northeastern was completely outmatched on the boards by Towson University on Thursday night, as the Huskies had their four-game winning streak snapped in a 75-72 loss at SECU Arena.
The Tigers, led by junior guard Brian Fobbs (18 points, eight rebounds), outrebounded the Huskies 40-23, including 17-11 on the offensive glass. Northeastern was held to two defensive rebounds for the entire second half. The Tigers outscored the Huskies 48-20 in the paint.
“They just played a lot harder and a lot tougher than us around the rim. They dominated the backboards,” said Northeastern head coach Bill Coen. “Still, with that, we had a chance. We gave ourselves a chance because we made a couple shots. When you give up that many offensive rebounds and second chance points, it’s really hard to win a basketball game on the road.”
All nine players that saw the floor for Towson scored while all but one (senior Alex Thomas) registered a rebound, as the Tigers seemed to have a bit more hop in their step than the visiting Huskies.
“Tonight it was a matter of which team played harder and they certainly played harder than we did,” Coen said.
For Northeastern, redshirt senior Vasa Pusica and junior Bolden Brace each recorded 18 points, while redshirt junior Jordan Roland added 14.
Sophomore Tomas Murphy strung together strong minutes as well, totaling eight points to go with four rebounds, and a steal to help the team battle back from a quick 9-0 defiicit in the first half.
“[Murphy] came in and settled the game down for us in the first half,” Coen added. “He gave us a burst of energy. He got some offensive rebounds himself, kept some balls alive, scored some baskets around the rim.”
Next up, the Huskies travel a couple hours south to Harrisonburg, Virginia to take on James Madison on Saturday at 4 p.m. Matt MacCormack and P.J. Wright will be on the call for WRBB.