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What happened?

It was the second-ever meeting in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament between Northeastern and William & Mary after a 49-47 Tribe victory in the 2010 semifinals, and this time the result went in favor of the Huskies. It was the first time NU had ever beated WM in the state of Virginia, having previously lost all five games at the Tribe’s home court, Kaplan Arena at William & Mary Hall.

Neither of the first two games of the day had the first possession for either team result in points, but both teams bucked that trend after Reggie Spencer got an offensive rebound and followed with a layup to score for Northeastern, but William & Mary answered right back with a Brandon Britt triple. NU would quickly take a commanding 11-4 lead with 14:33 on the clock, and eventually pushed it out to a 20-10 advantage about six minutes later. Jon Lee picked up his third foul of the game with his team leading 22-12 and 5:24 remaining in the period, and did not play again until after the break. Once he sat, William & Mary scored seven straight points to bring it back within three and finished the half down only 25-22.

Once the intermission was over, Jon Lee came back out onto the floor and hit a 3-pointer just 29 seconds into the frame, and was followed immediately by a triple from his co-captain Joel Smith. Quincy Ford would later hit two shots from beyond the arc with only a McDowell jumper separating the treys. The second of those would give the Huskies their largest lead of the day, a 12-point advantage at 39-27 with 16:38 on the clock.

It would be close to four minutes until either team found the net again, with Jon Lee picking up his 4th foul and Joel Smith getting three in a row during that span. Julian Boatner’s shot from downtown at the end of that stretch would spark a mini-run for the Tribe, as Northeastern hit only one field goal over a twelve-minute stretch after Ford’s triples. In that time, Jon Lee was also called for his fifth foul at the 10:38 mark. There was confusion on the play, as one official had signaled the play out of bounds but another called the foul on Lee that disqualified him for the rest of the night. The Huskies did, however, sink seven free throws to keep a 48-43 lead with 6:03 to go.

Alwayne Bigby hit an open 15-footer along the baseline with 4:47 to go, and that would prove to be the winning basket as it put NU up 50-43. The last five points of the game for Northeastern came at the free throw line as William & Mary was forced to foul despite making three of their last four shot attempts. The Huskies were only 20/33 (60.6%) from the charity stripe on the day, so the strategy made sense for William & Mary. However, they gave in after Kauri Black grabbed a defensive rebound with :31 left, and did not make any attempt for a comeback at that point.

Player of the Game:

The freshmen excelled for Northeastern, with Quincy Ford leading the team in scoring (18 points) and Reggie Spencer cleaning the glass to notch his third career double-digit rebound game (10). Both deserve recognition, especially for remaining calm with Jon Lee only playing 17 minutes. Ford also pulled down 7 rebounds, so he’ll get the top honors for our player of the game, but Spencer was worthy of a mention. Rebounding was one of two keys to the game, as Northeastern held a 42-27 advantage on the boards when the final buzzer sounded.

Tim Rusthoven was the best player on the court for William & Mary, scoring a team-high 12 points and grabbing a team-high 7 rebounds, but it still wasn’t enough. Quincy Ford seemed eager to match up with him early on in the contest, and it seemed to work. He made each of his two shots from distance in the second half, but was certainly more of a presence in the paint trying, successfully, to help Spencer control Rusthoven.

The Takeaway:

The biggest positive in this game is how Northeastern handled themselves without Jon Lee on the floor. Coming away with a seven-point win that saw the junior co-captain play only 17 minutes is a huge plus for the Huskies going into tomorrow’s matchup against VCU. There were questions towards the end of the season about whether he’d be able to hold up after playing close to 36 minutes per game all year. Now, he’ll be more rested for a very tough opponent.

After the 25-point loss in Williamsburg on Feb. 11, Tony Shaver said “Northeastern isn’t a great rebounding team.” At this point, he may want to take those words back as the Huskies outworked his squad on the backboard all night. The Northeastern focus on rebounding on practice was noted in the postgame press conference, as they held William & Mary to just five offensive rebounds while grabbing 14 of their own. That is definitely one stat to watch against VCU.

Finally, Northeastern was able to take 33 free throws to William & Mary’s 10. They made 20, while the Tribe made just 5. Tony Shaver also noted pointed out that difference in his presser. Though the percentages weren’t great for either team, it’s important that NU was able to get themselves to the line while keeping the Tribe away from the stripe. The Huskies committed just six fouls in the first half, allowing WM to take just 2 free throws. The difference at the line was especially big because the Huskies actually made three fewer field goals and one less three-pointer.

Press Pass:

Bill Coen, Quincy Ford and Jon Lee addressed the media after their Northeastern’s first Friday victory in the CAA tournament since 2008.

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Tony Shaver and Tim Rusthoven took the podium alongside Quinn McDowell, who was very emotional after playing the final game of his college career.

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Boston- After a Friday night game in which the Huskies seemed to show new life and hope for their 2012 season, Northeastern was blown out by the Black Bears Saturday night. Chris Rawlings let in a quick three goals in the first 10 minutes of the first period before giving up his post between the pipes to Clay Witt. The Huskies generated some good scoring chances early in the contest and were rewarded with a long overdue goal coming from Vinny Saponari, but that was all the offensive production the Huskies were able to muster in a runaway victory for the Black Bears. Maine went on to score four more goals before the night was over, with all four being scored by the Black Bear’s top scorers Joey Diamond and Spencer Abbot. The final score was a crushing 7-1 victory for the Black Bears, a victory where all three goalies for Northeastern saw some action between the pipes.

Click here for the box score

Our observations after the jump…

• Chris Rawlings once again struggled early before he was pulled out of the game by Jim Madigan for Clay Witt. Rawling’s struggles have been well documented, but falling into a 3-1 hole in the first 10 minutes of the game cannot happen against the 10^th ranked team in the nation. The Huskies have been able to overcome early, soft goals against teams closer to them in the standings, but playing against Maine that becomes a much harder task.
• Adam Reid continues to show why he has been receiving more ice time for the Huskies. If there has been any bright spot to pull from the Huskies losing efforts over the last few games it has been the play of Adam Reid. The impressive play from the freshman forward has led increased time on the power play and penalty kill units. It is obvious that Reid is beginning to understand how to use his size and speed to his advantage against some of the best competition in the nation and he should only improve as he gains more experience. The future is really beginning to look bright for this young Husky. 

Justin Daniels had a second period goal on Friday. (Photo: Hockey East)

BOSTON – The Maine Black Bears, for the second week in a row, met their match: a team in the bottom third of the standings. The Northeastern Huskies used a relentless forecheck and solid goaltending from Chris Rawlings to catapult them to a thrilling 4-2 win over the No. 11-ranked Black Bears on Friday at Matthews Arena. Early on, the Huskies had flipped the script, converting on their first power play chance with a low wristed shot by Garrett Vermeersch through three defensemen and Maine netminder Dan Sullivan. But it didn’t take long for Maine to respond in the second period: 15 seconds in, a deflection by Brian Flynn in front and a shorthanded tally on a deflection from Spencer Abbott (his 17^th goal of the season). Despite the adversity, the Huskies dug in and got a gorgeous top shelf snipe from Justin Daniels in the second, before a thrilling back-and-forth third period led to a late turnover and an Adam Reid rebound goal to seal the Huskies first win in 5 games.

Click here for the box score.

Our thoughts after the jump…

Our observations

• A resilient performance from Northeastern, despite losing the lead on a shorthanded goal, despite losing a few key players during the game after hits to the head – it was one of grittiest performances we’ve seen this season. (Alex Tuckerman and Mike McLaughlin both suffered contact to the head in the second half of the game and did not return)
• Chris Rawlings had a solid game, snapping a string of outings plagued by soft goals. Rawlings made 29 saves on 31 Maine shots, and looked in control for most of the night.
• The Huskies dictated the pace after an early up-and-down flurry in the first period. Interestingly, we heard after the game that Maine coach Tim Whitehead embraced the grinding style and was prepared to match Northeastern’s style during the game. Either way, not allowing Maine to run the tempo all 60 minutes played a big role in the Huskies’ ability to stay in the game early.
• Spencer Abbott’s Hobey hopes are worth the hype. Abbott it without a doubt playing on another level right now – his presence on the ice changes defensive schemes, and with such a potent top line, it’s not like he can be double-teamed, since there are other weapons in Joey Diamond and Brian Flynn (who also picked up his 17^th goal of the season last night)
• Adam Reid continues to shine, and Justin Daniels snapped a long drought on Friday night. Daniels ended a 14-game span without a goal with a gorgeous top-shelf snipe just above Dan Sullivan’s left shoulder, while Reid buried the game-winning goal off a Joseph Manno breakaway chance when Sullivan coughed up a rebound.
• “Compete level,” for once, was not a problem. There was a bona-fide energy line (Morra, Stone, and Manno) that gave the bench a pick-me-up at key moments of the game, while Mike McLaughlin provided a much needed lift to what had become a stagnant top pairing of Ludwig Karlsson and Vinny Saponari.

Quotable

“We knew it was going to be very hard fought tonight, very physical. We were prepared for that kind of game, we were in a position to win it with two minutes to go, and unfortunately we just didn’t get it done.” – Maine coach Tim Whitehead. More from Whitehead:

Press Pass 2012-02-24 Maine (Whitehead)

“I’m glad the way our guys played, I thought they played really well, resilient. I liked the way our discipline was. I didn’t like the way we took three hits to the head and lost some guys concussed, but I can’t control that. That’s the referee’s job to do that.” – Northeastern coach Jim Madigan

“I had a couple of spider webs I had to clean out, I was a little rusty, but I’m getting the chances.” – Huskies forward Steve Quailer.

More from Madigan and Quailer:

Press Pass 2012-02-24 Maine (Madigan)

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Paul Hewitt kept his comments brief after his team gave up a 10 point lead due to what he characterized as a lack of effort.

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The backcourt trio of Joel Smith, Jonathan Lee and Quincy Ford got Northeastern off to a blazing start against Stony Brook on Saturday. The sharpshooters began the contest a perfect seven of seven from three point distance, pushing NU to a 35-28 lead with 2:23 remaining in the opening half. With a combined 27 points from these three it appeared as though the Huskies would enter the locker room with a comfortable lead. In the final 35 seconds, things deteriorated rapidly for the hosts. Seawolves guard Dave Coley turned a missed Northeastern jump shot into a layup and was fouled on the play. Though he missed the ensuing free throw, Stony Brook got the offensive rebound and cashed in with a three pointer with four seconds remaining in the half. The Huskies quickly tried to inbound the ball to get a final shot off, but Smith was stripped on the entry pass and Coley banked in a turnaround jumper as the buzzer sounded to knot the score at 35.

Both squads looked sluggish to begin the second half before back-to-back threes by Smith pushed the Huskies to a seven point advantage. Northeastern stretched the lead to as many as nine with under six minutes remaining. Turnovers, poor rebounding and foul trouble doomed the Huskies from there on out, however. After a Coley three cut the deficit to two with 3:14 to play, consecutive giveaways by the Northeastern offense allowed Stony Brook to take the lead. On the second turnover, Lee raced up court and wrapped up Coley, getting whistled for an intentional foul. The Seawolves tacked on six points in a row thanks to offensive rebounds off missed free throws and forcing Lee to foul out with 2:17 to go. The Huskies got as close as three but Coley made his final six shots from the free throw line to complete Stony Brook’s comeback.

Player of the Game

I’m going to split player of the game honors between Smith and Kauri Black. No complaints from Smith, who dropped a team-high 20 points on seven of 12 shooting, including six of 10 from long range. While big scoring efforts are expected from Smith, that isn’t the case for Black, who chipped in 10 points on five of six shooting. It was the first time since November that Black has scored in double figures. In addition to the 10 points Black also led the Huskies with five rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench.

The overall player of the game honor has to go to Coley of Stony Brook. The sophomore guard entered Saturday’s contest averaging 9.5 points-per-game but dropped a career-high 21 points, including 11 in the final minute of each half.

The Takeaway

This one was about as frustrating as it gets for Huskies fans. Unlike the loss at William & Mary in which Northeastern played poorly all game, Northeastern played quite well Saturday against Stony Brook. The dogs had a lead of seven in the first half and nine in the second half. Bad decisions, bad execution and bad work on the glass at the end of each half ruined what should have been a win. I think it stings more for fans when it looks like the win is imminent but gets ripped away in crunch time.

It’s a shame the Huskies wasted such a good shooting effort. Smith, Lee and Ford were on fire to begin the game and Stony Brook didn’t have an effort. Those absurd long range numbers (7-7 to begin the game) aren’t going to occur that often, so you’d like to cash in on them when they come.

It’s officially time to say it: this time has a rebounding issue. What had been a relative strength of the team early in the season has become a problem. NU has been outrebounded in its last six games and is consequently 1-5 in these games. The problem lies in the defensive rebounding category. The Huskies are allowing opponents to collect way too many second and third chances on offense. The Seawolves grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, a number that is plain and simple just too large. The problem should be a quick fix, with an emphasis on boxing out, attacking the ball off the rim and tracking down long rebounds. I also think the guards should be more involved in the effort. If that means sacrificing possible fast break points, so be it. The rebounding disparity has to be fixed, fast.

If there is a positive in this loss it’s that Northeastern again slowed down a top scorer. Senior Bryan Dougher entered the game averaging 13.7 points-per-game, but managed only six points on six shots. We’ve seen this play out before with the Huskies limiting Hofstra’s Mike Moore and Louisiana Tech’s Cordarious Johnson, two scorers who led their team in scoring going into the game but who struggled against NU. Again the Huskies held off a top scorer, which bodes well for the team’s defensive outlook the rest of the way.

Quote of note

Bill Coen, on what his team lacked in Saturday’s loss: “The one thing that was absent pretty much all afternoon from the opening jump was our effort on the backboards. I didn’t think we matched their intensity or their physicality down low, and that allowed them to make a run at the end of the half and a run at the end of the game. Those two periods really cost us the basketball game.”

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After an ultra-slow pace was featured in the Huskies’ 57-48 win over Towson in January, NU looked to push the pace Tuesday night at Matthews Arena. The contest featured a number of scoring runs. After the visitors grabbed a 6-5 lead, Northeastern ran off eight consecutive points to grab a lead it never relinquished. Towson answered back shortly after, but another quick seven from the Huskies quickly pushed the advantage. Another 12-2 run gave the hosts a comfortable lead just before the halftime break, but Towson used an 11-5 run of its own to make it 37-27 at the end of the half.

Northeastern came out slow to start the second stanza, going nearly the first four minutes without a field goal. Towson didn’t fare much better, opening 1 of 6 from the floor in the opening minutes. Eventually Northeastern found its stroke, using a 14-2 run to put the game out of reach. The Huskies pushed their lead to as many as 25 before emptying the bench and earning a 70-51 decision.

Player of the Game:

Though junior captain Joel Smith led the way with 20 points on a hot five for eight night from downtown, the player of the game has to go to Reggie Spencer. The freshman big man set a new career high with 17 points on five of nine shooting, including seven of eight from the free throw line. Spencer was aggressive early on, demanding the ball in the post and facilitating the offense from the inside-out. He gave Northeastern a strong 32 minutes on the floor with six rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a career-high three steals. Smith is going to have games in which his three point shooting takes over and propels the team to victory. The Huskies have been looking for more production from their forwards, and they got it in a big way from Spencer. That’s what makes him player of the game.

The Takeaway:

Considering Tuesday’s win came against a team that has only one win in its last 50-plus games, the result has to be taken with a grain of salt. The truth is Northeastern did what was expected, win big over a bad team.

That being said there was plenty of like from the guys in red and black (and white). Smith got hot from the outside, something the team will need come CAA Tournament time. Fellow captain Jonathan Lee, who did not score at William & Mary Saturday, bounced back with 10 points and four assists with only one turnover. Quincy Ford struggled shooting (three of 10) but managed to chip in 12 points and was a menace on defense with five steals. And Spencer had one of his best games in a Northeastern uniform, as detailed above.

One thing that was nice to see, regardless of the quality of opponent, was great free throw shooting. The Huskies were 21 of 24 from the charity stripe in the game, a solid 87.5 percent. They came into the game shooting 68.8 percent from the line, seventh-best in the conference. Three of NU’s losses have come by three points or less, so if the team can improve from the charity stripe they might be able to turn some L’s into W’s.

An underrated aspect of the victory was the rest the team got with a big lead. Bench players Chris Avenant and Alex Bates got rare minutes, and Demetrius Pollard, Marco Benegas-Flores and Ryan Pierson saw extended time as well. That’s important to allow players like Lee, Smith and Ford to reduce their wear and tear.

Overall, Northeastern did what it needed and finally snapped a four game losing streak. The Huskies have an outside shot at a five or six seed, but more important than seeding they got back on track.

Quote of Note:

Joel Smith, on rebounding from Saturday’s loss to William & Mary: “We had a great team talk and decided to re-commit ourselves to the game and just put everything else aside and just focus on that. We really needed it to boost our confidence going into the conference tournament.”
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