BOSTON — Coming down the final stretch of the season, Northeastern is finding their stride at the right time.
After a big 67-58 win against Campbell on Thursday, the Huskies followed it up with a very comfortable victory over Stony Brook, leading for the majority of the game and taking it 71-60. Junior Rashad King opened up the scoring with a three-pointer from the left side, and kept it going throughout the day to lead the game with 25 points.
Even with this scoring burst, head coach Bill Coen credits their defense as the key to success.
“I thought defensively it was a great effort,” he said. “Especially in the first half, the team had a lot of energy and set the tone for the game.”
This effort helped hold junior guard CJ Luster to just five points, after he had torched the Huskies for 22 the last time the teams met. By mixing in combinations of man-to-man defense, full court presses, and the occasional zone, Northeastern was able to slow down the Seawolves.
The game stayed tight for the first portion, with it starting a bit sloppy and both teams committing multiple turnovers. After seven minutes Northeastern led 13-12, but that was when it began to open up.
Sparked by a great play by junior Collin Metcalf on the defensive end, the Huskies created some distance and went on a 12-4 run. With 10:20 left in the half, Metcalf rose to reject a layup attempt, and then was able to throw the ball into the Stony Brook player while out of bounds, giving Northeastern possession back.
It’s plays like these that Coen believes give the Huskies a chance to go far in the CAA tournament in two weeks.
“I think when we’re healthy and we’re playing hot, playing Husky basketball, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance of making the championship,” he said.
This energy stayed for the rest of the half, kept going by an and-one by Harold Woods. With 3:40 remaining, the junior guard drove to the paint, drew the contact, and had the control to finish through it. Extending the lead to 11, the bench erupted, and made it seem already that the game was out of reach.
However, it wasn’t all easy for Northeastern. Stony Brook had a few moments where they looked like they could come back, after a three by Luster within the first 40 seconds.
While this didn’t get him going like the Seawolves hoped it would, senior Andre Snoddy picked up the slack. Playing every minute of this game, Snoddy finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, being Stony Brook’s only threat on offense for most of the game.
The Seawolves’ biggest chance for a comeback came with about 12 minutes left, when they went on an 8-0 run, thanks in part to help off the bench from sophomore Leon Nahar’s shooting. However, Woods put a stop to this with a nice layup before it got close, keeping the game at 63-40.
Coen wasn’t worried by this run though, as basketball is a game of streaks.
“It’s just human nature, you take your foot off the gas a little bit,” Coen said. “We had some ill-advised offensive possessions, missed a couple box-outs, left some free throws on the table. But all-in-all, you’re going to have a stretch of that.”
What matters is how teams respond to these streaks, which Northeastern did well. Going into the CAA tournament and then hopefully March Madness, this will be significant to help them go deep.
The Huskies will look to keep this momentum rolling into the last four games of the season, and hopefully get some players back healthy. Masai Troutman and Youri Fritz both missed the game once again, and Northeastern would certainly like to have them back for the tournament.
The Huskies close out the home stand on Thursday, hosting the always-dangerous Charleston Cougars at Matthews Arena. Live coverage from Jacob Phillips and Webb Constable will be available with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.