On Saturday, the Huskies met with James Madison for the first and last time in the regular season.
The Huskies, coming in having lost three straight games, were hungry for a win. Saturday was a big day on the James Madison campus, as their #1 ranked football team was playing in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision against #6 Villanova. Therefore, the basketball game was played at 11 a.m., making it a full day of sports in Harrisonburg.
It was a very serious mood during the trip. The team seemed to be very anxious to play. Everyone was up earlier for meals and arrived earlier for film, which set the tone for Saturday.
Before the game coach Coen told the team that half of the teams in the conference would be 1-0 and the other would be 0-1 at the end of the day. Being in first place for a month would be something that would be very good for the Huskies. Coen also decided to shake things up. Neither Nkem Ojougboh or Manny Adako started, Matt Smith and Vinny Lima got the nod.
In the first half, the Huskies and Dukes played closely, with the Huskies led 16-13 with under 6:00 to play. Aided by two Matt Smith three-pointers, the Huskies went on a 13-3 run to close out the half, leading 29-16.
With 14:24 left to play, the Huskies held their largest lead, 18, 39-21. But the Dukes would not go away. In the next four minutes, the Huskies did not score, and the Huskies lead was cut to 41-38 with 10:11 remaining. The Dukes, led by Kyle Swanston’s 18 point performance, took the lead 47-46 with 5:09 left.
Chaisson Allen had his best game of the year, by far. He simply would not let the Huskies lose. After a layup plus the foul, the Huskies reclaimed the lead and would not lose it. Allen finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Manny Adako also came through in the clutch for the Huskies. After Matt Janning, who finished with 13 points, missed the back end of his free throws, Adako grabbed the offensive rebound and banked in a layup, pushing the lead to 54-59.
With the Huskies up two, 54-52, Adako flexed his muscles once again. Allen threaded the needle to Adako, who scored 11 points and pulled down 5 rebounds, hit the layup plus the foul shot, giving the Huskies a 57-52 lead with 1:47 left. Nkem Ojougobh also got in on the action, hitting two free throws down the stretch, and blocking Devon Moore’s layup with 24.6 second left. After a Janning free throw, the Huskies escaped with a 60-55 win.
This was just what the doctor ordered for the Huskies. Yes they blew a big lead, but they did it on the road with under five minutes to play, and still came back and won. There was no panic, and the cooler heads prevailed. Coach Coen told the team in the locker room that good teams find ways to win, and the Huskies did so on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies improve to 4-4 and now 1-0 in the conference.
Finally, it was a pleasant trip back to Boston for everyone. The team was relieved to get back on the right track with a win. But everyone knows how much work is to be done. The players all spoke in the locker room and knew that this was the dog fight they needed to get back to their winning ways.
Northeastern will be off until Wednesday, when they travel to Harvard to take on the Crimson at 7 p.m.
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