What happened?
Still stinging from allowing a season-high 88 points against N.C. State a week prior, the Huskies sought a more complete defensive effort against Vermont on Friday. With both teams sporting a slow and methodical pace, points were at a premium. Junior captain Joel Smith got off to a solid start, scoring eight of his team’s first 12 points and converting his first two three-point attempts. Northeastern used the benefit of some shaky officiating to grab a 23-16 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Catamounts cut the deficit to two before Quincy Ford grabbed an airball and put in a layup as the buzzer sounded to give the Huskies a 28-24 edge at halftime.
Smith teamed with backcourt mate Jonathan Lee to push the tempo early in the second stanza and run the visitor’s lead to a game-high nine points. But foul trouble, which had not been an issue in the first half, began to plague the Huskies as Lee, Reggie Spencer and Kauri Black all played the final 10 minutes with at least three fouls each. The Huskies went cold at a most inopportune time, making only one of six field goals and turning the ball over four times between the second and fourth media timeouts of the second half. The Catamounts took advantage of Northeastern’s sloppy play, grabbing it’s first second half lead with 4:09 to play.
Matters went from bad to worse for the visitors as junior captain Lee, the team’s leading scorer, fouled out with 2:06 to play. Fortunately, the Huskies’ big men stepped up in a big way down the stretch, as Quincy Ford blocked a jump shot that led to a fast break layup for Smith and Kashief Edwards converted on a layup in traffic to push NU ahead with 51 seconds to go. After Vermont tied the score 49-49 with under 30 seconds to go, head coach Bill Coen used a timeout to diagram a play. Smith curled around a pick and roll with Edwards, then dished the ball off to the senior transfer, who absorbed contact to put the ball in with nine seconds to go.
Smith nearly went from hero to goat on the next sequence, however. Edwards missed the ensuing free throw, keeping the score at 51-49 Huskies. Smith was too aggressive in the final seconds, fouling Vermont’s best free throw shooter Four McGlynn with 3.9 seconds remaining and sending him to the line for two shots. McGlynn drained both tries, knotting the score at 51-51. Coen used his final timeout to set up a last second play for his team. Black took the inbound pass and threw it to Smith at half court. Smith spun away from traffic, dribbled to the right wing of the three-point line, and launched an off-balance shot with two seconds remaining. The ball rattled in and out of the cylinder and hung on the back rim before finally falling through as the buzzer sounded, giving Northeastern a dramatic 53-51 victory.
Player of the Game:
Hitting a game-winning buzzer beater to snap a six-game losing streak merits automatic player of the game recognition, but Smith did more than just score the game’s final two points. The sharpshooter was aggressive from the start, taking open shots when available and looking to create offense for others, yet not forcing the issue and falling into turnovers. Smith’s overall stat line was just what the doctor ordered: 32 minutes played, a game-high 19 points, 7 of 14 from the floor, 3 of 7 from downtown, 2 for 2 from the line, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 0 turnovers. While Smith had a career-high 29 points in the win at St. John’s. it was his effort against Vermont that the Huskies need more of. The junior captain was in control the entire game, rarely made a bad decision with the ball, was reliable defensively, and stepped up in crunch time when his team needed him. Many will remember his three-point barrage against the Red Storm, but don’t overlook what he did against the Catamounts.
The Takeaway:
First and foremost, the Huskies finally ended their losing streak, which extended back to Nov. 30 at La Salle. It was important for Northeastern to pick up a non-conference win before beginning conference play in January. Though the BracketBuster game in February still remains, this marks the scheduled end of non-conference play. All things considered, NU’s 4-6 mark is nothing to write home about, but is a decent beginning to the season.
Second, Joel Smith. At times he can be lights out shooting, other times he struggles to make an impact. Friday he was the perfect mix for the Huskies, doing exactly what his abilities allowed him to do while not trying to do too much or failing but not doing enough. It has been an up and down two month stretch for Smith, but if he plays as he did against Vermont, Coen and company have to be ecstatic.
Third, the defensive improvement. Granted, Vermont does not have the offensive firepower that N.C. State does, but 88 points is too much for the Huskies to be allowing. Northeastern did a much better job on the defensive end, hurrying back in transition and not yielding easy shots. The communication between teammates was solid, as players rotated to compensate for any players who were caught out of position. The team gets an A for solid D.
Fourth, Jonathan Lee. It’s too early to panic, but this does mark the second time in three games he has failed to reach double-digits in scoring. Lee did not play poorly, but as a junior captain and the only experienced point guard on the team, it’s important for him to produce and stay on the court. Some of his fouls in the second half were ill-advised and resulted in disqualification late in a tight game. I have little doubt Lee will bounce back, but it was somewhat disappointing to see the team’s leader foul out in a close game.
Finally, turnovers, or lack there of. Turnovers plagued the Huskies throughout their losing streak, but recently NU has done a much better job of taking care of the basketball. Northeastern turned the ball over 14 times but dished out 11 assists as a team. The closer the assist to turnover ratio is, the better chance this team has to win, and the Huskies look to be headed in the right direction.
Quote of Note:
Bill Coen, on his team ending a six-game losing streak: “I thought we had three of our best practices leading up to this game. Everyone went home and no one was feeling good about how we finished December, but we have the type of character in that locker room where they recommitted themselves, came back with an even stronger resolve, and we said to them in the locker room that that game was won on the practice floor in the days leading up to this game, not particularly in the game. We just got credit for it today.”
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Patrick McHugh Audio, Basketball, Press Pass Holiday Road Trip, Vermont
What happened?
What Happened?
What happened?
Monday, January 2
Wednesday, January 4
6:45 p.m. – Huskies Hockey Pre-Game
