by Kyle Williams
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Donnell Gresham Jr. had 15 points, and Bolden Brace added 13 as the Northeastern University Huskies fell to the Stanford Cardinal. Michael Humphrey and Isaac White had 17 points each for Stanford, and Reid Travis chipped in 16.
NU started the game shooting poorly, finishing the first half 4-18 from beyond the arc and 10-31 overall. Anthony Green provided 4 points and 5 rebounds – 3 offensive – in the first half to keep the game close; Northeastern ended the half with a +2 rebounding margin, including +3 offensive. Vasa Pusica was a non-factor, shooting only 1-6 from the field. Reid Travis was a big presence inside for the Cardinal, with 10 first half points. Stanford went up by as many as 12, but Gresham closed the half with a 30-footer off of one foot to cut the lead to single digits.
Stanford came out hot in the second half, building a 17-point with ten minutes left in the game. Northeastern cut the lead to 3 following a 17-2 run, highlighted by a barrage of threes from Gresham and Brace. Brace hit two straight from beyond the arc, followed by a three and a transition three point play from Gresham. Tomas Murphy hit another 3 before a layup by Gresham cut the lead to 57-55. Isaac Whitehead came down and drained a three, and followed that up with a layup for the Cardinal, who never let the Huskies get that close again down the stretch. After falling down 9 points, Oscar Da Silva hit the dagger for Stanford, a three that stretched the lead to 71-59 with a minute to play.
The Huskies ended the game shooting under 40% from the floor and under 30% from three. Stanford shot over 50% both from the field and beyond the arc. The loss drops the Huskies to 2-1 on the season. They’ll play Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday.