Next Stop, El Paso

On Tuesday night, the Huskies won their first postseason game in 25 years, defeating the Wyoming Cowboys 64-62 in the first round of the CBI.

It took a total team effort for the Huskies to win, as every player played tonight in key moments. Matt Janning led the Huskies with 20 points, while Chaisson Allen scored 16, including three huge three-pointers in the second half.

Both Janning and Allen stepped up to fill the void left by the absence of Manny Adako, who did not play due to injury. Nkem Ojougboh fought through foul trouble and finished with a big 11 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

The Huskies took a four and a half hour flight to Denver, and then drove two hours to the hotel in Laramie, Wyoming. With the altitude change, the time difference, playing on the highest altitude campus in the country and the thin lineup, the Huskies had a lot to handle. But they got the job done on the road and will live to see another game, when they travel to El Paso to take on UTEP on Monday.

Tomorrow will be a long travel day, as the team will be on the bus to Denver at 8 a.m., fly from Denver to New York where they will have a two hour layover and then land in Boston at 9 p.m. But these trips are always better after a win.

Huskies Accept Bid To CBI

Late Sunday night the Northeastern Huskies accepted an invitation to play in the second College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

The Huskies will travel tomorrow to Wyoming to take on the Cowboys at 9 p.m. on Tuesday on HDNet. If the Huskies win, they will take on the winner of the Nevada and UTEP, played on Tuesday at 11 p.m.

For the full bracket, visit the CBI website: http://www.gazellegroup.com/events/cbi/cbi09_bracket.pdf

Tigers Ride Hot Streak Over Huskies

The regular season came to an abrupt halt in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament as the Huskies fell to Towson 58-54.

At the half, the Tigers led 32-25. Towson shot 52 percent in the first half, while the Huskies shot only 33 percent. Coach Coen told the team at halftime to get the ball inside to Manny Adako, who the Tigers had no answer for, and they did.

Adako led the way with 23 points, helping the Huskies come back and take the lead in the second half. But they could not put the Tigers away. Every time Towson needed a big shot, they got one, including two huge put-back dunks down the stretch.

Down only three with 4 second left, Baptiste Bataille drew a foul while shooting a three-pointer. However he missed the first free-throw, made the second, and missed the third on purpose so the Huskies could attempt a rebound or tip-in, but it did not happen.

Frustrated, sad and disappointed, the Huskies had to leave Richmond early. But the season is not over, as they will now wait and see if they qualify for the postseason.

Huskies Honored At CAA Awards Banquet

Manny Adako, Matt Janning and Chaisson Allen earned All-CAA honors tonight at the annual CAA Basketball banquet in Richmond.

Allen earned All-Defensive Team honors in the conference. Adako was named Third Team All-Conference, earning his first All-Conference honors. Janning was named to the CAA First Team All-Conference after being named to second team last year,

The Huskies also received the most awards recognizing accomplishments in the classroom, with Baptiste Bataille, Nkem Ojougboh and Matt Janning representing Northeastern. Janning earned Second Team All-Academic honors, while Bataille and Ojougboh were named First Team All-Academic.

Today the Huskies practiced, first at the Richmond Coliseum where all the teams were given 40 minutes to get familiar with the hoops and the surroundings. The Huskies then traveled to nearby Benedictine High School where they held practice for an hour and a half. Tomorrow will be more of the same for Northeastern, as they earned a first round bye.

Huskies Drop Third Straight Home Game

The Huskies fell to Old Dominion Saturday night at Matthews Arena in an overtime heartbreaker.

On senior night, where Northeastern honored their three seniors; Matt Smith, Chris Alvarez, and Eugene Spates, the Huskies could not send them off with a win. The Monarchs came out with more intensity from the start, knowing that the only way they could earn a bye in the CAA Tournament was to beat the Huskies.

In the closing seconds of the second half, the Huskies and Monarchs were tied. Matt Janning then pulled up from right in front of coach Coen and the Husky bench and drained a three with 20 seconds left. This was also the first time the crowd was heard since the senior night ceremonies were held. With a foul to give, the Huskies planned to take some time off and then commit the foul. But a missed assignment led to a wide open three-pointer at the top of the key for Jonathan Adams.

In overtime, the Huskies had a chance to extend their 2 point lead twice, but failed. Gerald Lee then scored for the Monarchs and then fouled Janning on the Huskies possession. But Janning missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Trailing 56-54, the Huskies again looked to Baptiste Bataille for help. Bataille drove the baseline and missed a layup, with a lot of contact but no whistle. Gerald Lee then made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Huskies had a chance. Janning’s three went in and out, and Bataille got the rebound and passed it out to Spates, who pump faked and traveled before he could get a shot off. With 0.5 second left, the Monarchs began to celebrate and the game was over.

This marks the third straight home loss for the Huskies, who will now go into the CAA Tournament as the third seed. They will play Saturday night March 7th at 8:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet against the winner of the Drexel and Towson game.

"Big Shot Bap"

Moments before the Huskies lost to Drexel at home, coach Coen turned to the bench and said “We won’t forget this when we go down to their place, I guarantee you that”, and he was right.

It was all business for the Huskies as they look for revenge against a Drexel team that came into Matthews Arena a week earlier and beat them. But it was not easy, and came down to one play.

For the Dragons, it was senior night. It was also a night where they could have clinched a bye in the CAA Tournament as well, and the same went for the Huskies. The Daskalakis Center is not an easy place to play. If you haven’t been, it is like a high school gym.

The bleachers square around the court, and the student section is directly behind the visiting bench, literally about 2 feet separates the stands and the bench. It was the only place where the students were louder during timeouts than the game. Every timeout, the Huskies could barely hear due to the students, placed directly behind them, and were basically in the huddle screaming from start to finish.

A quick 12-0 in the first 5 minutes was just was the Huskies needed. But they did could not put the Dragons away early, as Drexel outscored the Huskies 25-15 in the final 15 minutes of the half. In the second half, the Huskies started off hot again, this time going on a 10-0 run to open the half, capped off by a Manny Adako dunk in transition over Leon Spencer. Adako led the Huskies with 17 points.

Again, the Huskies could not keep their foot on the gas, and the Dragons came back with a 15-4 run. With 8:23 left to play, the Dragons led 40-39 thanks to a Tramayne Hawthorne three-pointer. The Huskies defense was focused on keeping Scott Rodgers out of the paint, and it worked. However, Hawthorne was the man left open in the zone, and he knocked down 4 three-pointers in the game, and single handedly kept the Dragons in the game.

With 16.8 seconds left and 8 seconds left on the shot clock, the Dragons had the ball and were up by a point. Tramayne Hawthorne took a free-throw line jumper and missed it, and Matt Janning pulled down the rebound. He threw the outlet pass out to Chaisson Allen, who attacked the lane and dumped the ball off to a trailing Janning who went up for the layup. Janning’s shot drew a lot of contact, but no foul was called and the ball was blocked and Baptiste Bataille caught it and hit a 6 foot bank shot off the glass with 1.3 seconds left to play. Drexel called a timeout and then threw a baseball pass that missed all the Dragons and fell into the hands of Nkem Ojougboh who held it until the clock expired and the Huskies erupted.

From where I was sitting, and a few players on the bench were sitting, the only thing that could be seen was a cluster of body’s as Janning’s shot was blocked and the ball was in the air. Then, the gym was silent and we had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, we see Baptiste’s head poke out of the side of the pile and shoot the ball off the glass and in. It was an absolutely incredible ending to what coach Coen called, “a rock fight” between the teams. The Huskies now have clinched a first round bye in the CAA Tournament.

Baptiste Bataille has stepped up time and time again for the Huskies this season, especially at the end of games. With free-throws, three-pointers, and now 6 footers, Bataille has been clutch for the Huskies. Whether you prefer the nickname Little Big-Shot, or Big Shot Bap, everyone can agree that at the end of the game, the smallest guy on the court has taken over in the biggest moments.

Spates, Allen Put Huskies Back In The Win Column

After struggling for the past week or so, the Huskies put on a good show for the cameras of ESPN2 against Wright State for their BracketBusters showdown.

The Huskies trailed early, 7-2, but came back to grab the lead 9-7. For most of the first half the Huskies and Raiders wrestled over the lead, but the Huskies would take the lead for good with 4:14 left in the first half after a Eugene Spates jumper.

Spates hitting jumpers was one of the themes of the day. The other was Chaisson Allen hitting jumpers as well. Spates finished with a career-high 22 points, and Allen finished with 20 points, including 3 of 4 shooting from behind the arc. Matt Janning scored 8 points, while dishing out 4 assists and grabbing 6 rebounds.

This was a huge game for the Huskies, who have now ended their three game losing streak. The victory was quickly put behind them, and the revenge game against Drexel was put directly in their sight. It was also due to the Huskies having to scramble out of the locker room in less than 30 minutes so they could get on the road to catch their flight in Pittsburgh to return to Boston. Due to the games being assigned only two weeks before they are played makes it extremely hard to plan and book trips that are cost-effective. But the Huskies, thanks to Steve Scalzi, made it with time to spare.