No Love Lost

George Mason came into Matthews Arena undefeated, but they did not leave unblemished.

Northeastern came out with something to prove, and hungry after letting one get away from them against Hofstra. It was the Patriots who eliminated the Huskies in the CAA Tournament last year, and the Huskies were not about to lose on their home floor to them.

The game was as good as it was built up to be. Both teams obviously being talked about highly in the conference, they certainly did not disappoint. Early on, the Huskies led 10-2. But it tightened as the Patriots, led by John Vaughan, were ready for a fight.

At the half, the Huskies led 32-25 after a Eugene Spates lay up. The second half was filled with drama, especially the very scary situation involving John Vaughan. After suffering an inadvertent elbow from Eugene Spates while fighting for a rebound, Vaughan fell to the floor. He was able to get up and walk down the court as Nkem Ojougboh was about to shoot free throws.

After Ojougboh hit the first free throw, Vaughan walked across the lane. As he walked back to his spot, he slowly fell to the floor and laid there with his arms crossed over his face. The trainers rushed out from both teams to attend to Vaughan and handled the situation swiftly and professionally. The players stood in silence for almost 20 minutes until Vaughan was transported to Beth Israel Hospital. Vaughan was diagnosed with a concussion, and will only miss a week of basketball.

Ojougboh made the second free throw to give the Huskies a 56-51 lead with 2:16 left to play. Then the game got even crazier. Darryl Monroe scored for the Patriots on the next possession to make it 56-53 in favor of the Huskies. As Ojougboh held the ball at the top of the key, Andre Cornelius snuck around and stole the ball from Ojougboh and went coast-to-coast for the lay up.

The Patriots again stole the ball, this time it was Monroe. Cam Long was then fouled by Ojougboh. Long connected on both free throws to give the Patriots the lead 57-56 with 56 seconds remaining. With the clock winding down, Baptiste Bataille drove the lane and faked a pass to the corner, then threw a no-look pass to Manny Adako who finished with a lay up to give the Huskies a 58-57 lead with 25 seconds left.

Once crossing half court, the Patriots took a timeout with 18 seconds left. The Huskies, who had a foul to give, fouled with 12 seconds left. The Patriots passed the ball around the perimeter and tried to get a shot off but the Huskies knocked a pass away and then the ball was tossed into the air and came nowhere close to the basket and the Huskies came away on top 58-57.

Not only did the Huskies hand the Patriots their first loss, but they moved into a tie for first place with Virginia Commonwealth. It was a crazy night for everyone, and the Huskies were glad to come out on top. When the Huskies head down for a Valentine’s Day showdown with the Patriots, there will certainly be no love lost.