Huskies Win Home Opener

The Huskies got their first win of the season in the home opener of the newly renovated Matthews Arena on Saturday. All of the new features look great, and so did the Huskies who are always tough at home. Coming into this week, Utah State had received votes for this weeks Top 25 poll. This is the second team in one week that the Huskies have played who have received votes in the poll. In the past two years, the Aggies have won 54 games and have gone to the postseason, the NIT in 2007-2008, and the NCAA Tournament last season. This is a team who has played with the elite teams in the country, and a team who was testing if the Huskies had what it takes to get to that level.

Early on the Huskies came out cold, and Utah State forward Tai Wesley was anything but. Wesley pushed the Aggies out to a 19-4 lead going into the under twelve minute media timeout. The Huskies chipped away, thanks to the aggressive play by Matt Janning and Baptiste Bataille. The lead was cut to 4 with under a minute left in the half, but a jumper by Tyler Newbold gave the Aggies a 34-28 lead at the half.

Halftime was filled with challenges for the Huskies. It was a challenge for their post players to get involved in the battle for rebounds, as the Aggies scored 16 second chance points. They were challenged to be more aggressive on offense. Most importantly, they were challenged to prove they were a team that people should be talking about.

In the second half they answered the bell, but not right away. The first play of the half was an alley-oop to Matt Janning that got the crowd on their feet. But the Aggies weren't shaken at all, and scored the next 7 points and brought their lead to 11 with 17:49 to play. Once again the Huskies would cut into the lead. Adako and Ojougboh became more active on the glass, and more aggressive on offense, which translated into great success for the Huskies. Freshman Alwayne Bigby brought the Huskies to within one point of the lead, coming up with an offensive rebound then laying it up to make it 43-42 Aggies. It was Bigby's first points of his career, and possibly the biggest play of the game. Adako would score on the next Huskies posession, giving them the lead for the first time. The Huskies led by 6 with under five minutes to play, but the experienced Aggies caught the Huskies and tied it at 55 with 3:53 to play. They traded baskets until Bataille hit 2 free-throws with 36 seconds left to give Northeastern a 60-58 lead. After a steal by Chaisson Allen, he too connected on both of his free-throws. Ojougboh sealed the deal with a pair of free-throws to make it 64-59. Interestingly at the end, Jared Quayle hit a three-pointer after time expired, but the officials didn't review it so the final score was 64-61.

It was a huge win for the Huskies, who now improve to 1-1. This was a statement game, no doubt, but it's just one game in a long season. Janning led the Huskies with 14 points, while Ojougboh had a huge game for the Huskies with 13 points and nine rebounds. Chaisson Allen bounced back nicely with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Manny Adako scored 9 points and three rebounds. Up next for the Huskies is a Wednesday afternoon showdown at Boston University.