By: Michael Petillo
Without the services of T.J. Williams Northeastern’s road struggles continued Saturday afternoon as they dropped another game away from the friendly confines of Matthews Arena, this time to the James Madison Dukes by a score of 73-69.
Williams missed the game with an undisclosed injury which is believed to be minor as he should be back for NU’s next game on Thursday at Charleston.
The undermanned Huskies struggled out of the gate and were down by as many as 13 in the first half as JMU got off to a hot start powered by senior swingman Jackson Kent. Kent recorded 11 points in the first half on his way to 25 on the game.
Northeastern was able to claw back, however, and went into the half down just five thanks to some hot shooting by freshman Bolden Brace, who scored a career-high 21. This effort by Brace comes on the heels on a 20 point outing on Thursday against William and Mary.
The second half was hotly contested and Northeastern claimed their first lead of the game at the 8:29 mark following another deep bomb from Brace.
While Huskies held that lead for a mere 14 seconds, they remained in the game and with 22 seconds left had the ball down 71-69 after sophomore JMU guard Vince Holmes missed 2 foul shots.
On the ensuing possession Northeastern’s junior guard Devon Begley missed a step-back 3 point try that would have put Northeastern up one.
“I don’t second guess my players,” said Coach Coen, “but I think if you asked Devon he would like that possession back.”
Northeastern next takes the court on Thursday in Charleston when they take on the Cougars. Listen live at http://www.wrbbsports.com/listen-live/.