Hear what Coach Coen, Jordan Roland and Vasa Pusica had to say after tonight's victory over William & Mary! #HowlinHuskies pic.twitter.com/2wU4ZAZyyD
— Northeastern Men’s Basketball (@GoNUmbasketball) February 8, 2019
by Matthew MacCormack
It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t easy, but the Northeastern men’s basketball team picked up its seventh win in eight games Thursday night at Matthews Arena, outlasting a comeback effort from William & Mary for a 72-60 victory.
Redshirt senior point guard Vasa Pusica — the reigning CAA Player of the Week — led the way with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, as the Huskies picked up their third straight win. Five different Huskies scored in double digits, and center Anthony Green (9 points) almost added to that total.
“That’s who we are,” said Northeastern head coach Bill Coen.
“That’s what we’re built on — sharing the basketball — and luckily it shows up on the stat sheet.”
William & Mary’s star junior center Nathan Knight led the Tribe (9-15, 5-7 CAA) with 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. He also coughed up five turnovers, which was a team-wide problem for the Tribe, as they surrendered 20 turnovers as a team.
Pusica put up a highlight play with 11:32 to go in the second half, throwing the ball off the back of a W&M opponent with one second left on the shot clock, grabbing the loose ball and throwing up a circus shot to beat the buzzer.
Play of the night. #SCTop10 #HowlinHuskies pic.twitter.com/AfBGxQ3zlD
— Northeastern Men’s Basketball (@GoNUmbasketball) February 8, 2019
Junior guard Shawn Occeus missed his second straight game with a lower leg injury.
The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, with the Elon Phoenix coming to Matthews Arena. Justin Littman and Milton Posner will have the call, with pregame coverage beginning at 3:45 p.m.