For their second game of the season, ESPN gave Northeastern only a 17% chance of winning against Georgia State, but in the first half, you never would’ve been able to tell that the Huskies were the underdog.
The Huskies were in it for the first few minutes, they were making their shots, accumulating defensive rebounds, and for a second, it seemed like a win could be possible for this patchwork Husky team. Then they faltered, turning over the ball, missing shots, and playing with a lack of confidence or assertiveness. It went from being a back and forth game, to Georgia slowly stretching their lead. About eight minutes into the first half, Georgia led the game 33-22, but then the Huskies started to come back.
Sophomore guard Glen McClintock boosted the Huskies back up by draining three shots from beyond the arc. His sophomore teammate Jahmyl Telfort also contributed to the Husky attack t by putting up nine first half points.
The Huskies trailed 42-39 at the end of the first half, but with four seconds left, Shaquille Walters drained a three at the buzzer to tie the game.
After returning from halftime, Northeastern started out the half with a few buckets, but then went over almost four minutes without scoring a single point. This allowed Georgia State to go on a 12-0 run, giving them a comfortable lead which they would never relinquish
Northeastern’s Chris Doherty scored once to end that run, but then Northeastern went on a second scoring drought for several minutes. From there, the Huskies tried to flip the table, holding off the Panthers and going on a 7-0 scoring run of their own.
But the Huskies lost steam yet again, ending the game with another nearly four minute scoring drought and falling to the Panthers 83-64.
For Georgia State, Corey Allen had a standout game with 25 points. Allen is one of Georgia’s most threatening scorers, along with Justin Roberts, who had 22 points on the day. The two combined had more than half of the teams total points, whereas the Northeastern scoring was a little more diversified.
A new addition to the Husky roster this year, Nikola Djogo, tied with Doherty for the team-high in scoring with 14. Telfort trailed behind them, putting 11 points on the board. The team overall was solid from the field, shooting 43.1% in total and an elite 40.6% from three, but a mere 58.3% from the free throw line.
Northeastern had a strong first half, but lost steam in the second. For a second there was a glimmer of hope, a big win that sat just 20 minutes away. But despite their underwhelming play in the second half, the strong performance NU put together against a team that sat on top of the Sun Belt conference’s preseason polls, provides hope for better days going forward, as well as an optimistic outlook on how the team might perform in conference play.
Even when down, Northeastern never looked scared. The Huskies remained calm and collected. They gave the Panthers a run for their money today, showing that this team had a good reason to be ranked second in the CAA preseason poll.
The Huskies, now 0-2, will continue their season on Tuesday at 7 p.m., as they return to Matthews Arena for the first time since 2020. WRBB’s Justin Diament, Peyton Doyle, and Adam Doucette will be calling that game. Coverage starts at 6:45.