After climbing out to a second period lead, the Huskies hang on late to claim a four-point weekend in Vermont.
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What happened?
Mike Moore found the net from long range to give the Pride a 3-0 advantage just 18 seconds into the game, the fastest any opponent has scored against Northeastern since he did the same in 11 seconds on January 8, 2011 at Matthews Arena, a 76-67 win for Hofstra. Coincidentally, that was the last time Comcast SportsNet broadcasted a game from Matthews Arena before they were in the gym on Saturday. After that game-opening triple, it felt like Mo Cassara’s club was hungry to pick up just its second conference win and avenge its 64-62 loss to the Huskies back on January 11 at home in Hempstead.
The pair of 5-point leads held by the Pride, at 7-2 and 10-5, would be the best they could do all afternoon, however, as freshmen Quincy Ford and Reggie Spencer put the team on their backs and combined to score the first 12 points of the day for NU. Junior co-captain Jon Lee finally got himself on the board with a jumper to give the Huskies their first lead of the game at the 12:37 mark. Following that basket, Northeastern would go on its typical four-plus minute stretch without scoring, but the defense held strong and only allowed four points in that time frame. Joel Smith would eventually break an 18-all tie, at 6:37 left in the half, with back-to-back threes, and the Huskies wouldn’t look back from there.
At the halftime break, Northeastern held a 30-27 advantage and had only turned the ball over four times. On the other side, Hofstra had only coughed it up three times, and was able to convert NU’s four turnovers into seven points. Ford led all scorers with 11 points as the teams headed to the locker rooms, with Reggie Spencer registering the 2nd-highest total to that point in the game at eight points.
Most of the drama in the contest was over by then, as the Huskies extended their lead behind the play of Ford, Spencer and Lee after returning from intermission. They would steadily nudge the advantage higher and higher, reaching 11-point leads on four different occasions. Shemiye McLendon would sink a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game with 42 seconds on the clock. It was just the third, and final, trey of the afternoon for the visiting team, after Moore’s to open the game and David Imes’ fifth make from beyond the arc on the season at 3:19 into the game.
Joel Smith put the game on ice with his only two free throws of the day, and just his sixth and seventh points, giving his team a 58-50 lead six seconds after McLendon’s shot and a Hofstra timeout. The Pride could only manage two shots from the field in the final seconds, missing both, though Matt Grogan would add the team’s final point at the charity stripe.
Player of the Game:
It’s hard to choose between Jon Lee, Quincy Ford and Reggie Spencer for this one. Without the play of Ford and Spencer early on, Hofstra may have been able to scramble out to a big early lead that could have changed the complexion of the game from the outset. Spencer was able to outwork Hofstra big Stephen Nwaukoni in the paint all day, both getting himself open for looks coming in from the top and showing patience as he fought off defenders when he had the ball underneath the hoop. He tallied 13 points and eight boards, along with a game-high three assists (matched by Lee) and a block. Of the three in the running for the honors, he had the fewest turnovers with only two.
Ford was the one providing some early assists to Spencer down low, then finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jon Lee’s 17 points came on a season-best 77.8% shooting (7-for-9) that bested his previous mark of 69.2% (9-for-13) that he set at Hofstra on January 11.
The Takeaway:
After the Huskies allowed the Pride to jump out to a 9-0 lead in their previous matchup this season, they adjusted and kept it close to start then were able to close out the game comfortably after gaining a double-digit lead. Hofstra tried a back-court press on several occasions, but Northeastern didn’t seem to have much trouble with it. They did commit 12 turnovers in the 2nd half, including five from Jon Lee, but those did not result from a failure to break the full-court pressure.
At the end of a stretch that saw every CAA team play 5 games in 11 days since Wednesday, January 18, Bill Coen left all five of his starters on the floor for at least 30 minutes. Kauri Black saw 16 minutes of action (2 points, 5 rebounds), Ryan Pierson played two and picked up a rebound, and Kashief Edwards accumulated no stats in three minutes. It’s surprising to see the starters stay on the court so long in the final game of that grueling stretch, which Coen compared to an NBA schedule with games virtually every other night and travel thrown in. It was the first time all season that any five players were on the floor for at least 30 minutes, as even in the overtime game to start the season only two players (Lee, Smith) played at least that long and each were out there for 40+ minutes.
Leaving everyone in so long could have advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it could prepare the players to go out and play tough competition on consecutive days in the CAA tournament in March. Normally, the Huskies have a mid-season tournament that gives them experience with that, but did not play in such a tournament this year. On the other hand, it could wear out the athletes and make them gassed by the end of the season. Coen will have to be careful to make sure that doesn’t happen. For Saturday’s game, it was a very positive sign to see those guys play without appearing too tired. They’ll be back at it on Wednesday night as they try to avenge their 18-point loss at Drexel, the CAA’s preseason favorite.
Hofstra head coach Mo Cassara was the first to speak to the media after his team slipped to 1-10 in conference play.
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Northeastern’s Bill Coen spoke on his team’s 8th win in its last 11 games.
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Cody Ferriero scored a hat trick on Friday (Photo: Hockey East)
BURLINGTON, VT. — It was as much of a victory as it was a sigh of relief for a Huskies team that needed something positive to happen to them. Playing against the league’s last-place Vermont Catamounts, the Huskies scored their second-highest number of goals in a game since a blowout 9-2 win at Notre Dame in December. In the process, Cody Ferriero scored the first Husky hat trick in over three seasons, Northeastern scored three power play goals, chased Vermont goalie Rob Madore, and most importantly, snapped a four-game losing streak.
Click here for the box score.
Our thoughts from the game after the jump: Read more…
After Friday’s 8-3 win, Northeastern coach Jim Madigan talked about the urgency displayed in the team’s romp, but expressed concern that as the score ran up, the game got a bit too “wide open.”
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Northeastern routs Vermont 8-3 in the first game of the weekend series, including a hat trick by Cody Ferriero.
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We’re entering the home stretch of the Hockey East season, and things do not look good for the Northeastern Huskies. The team currently sits 9th in the standings, 3 points behind 8th-place New Hampshire (who also owns a game in hand over the Huskies) and 4 points behind 7th-place UMass (who owns two games in hand). While making the Hockey East playoffs looks like a bleak possibility at the moment (due to the run of play), Northeastern is far from mathematically out of contention.
Here’s where we stand after the weekend’s games: Read more…
What happened?
Forty-eight hours after dropping a 71-53 decision at Drexel Saturday afternoon, the Huskies were back in action Monday evening at Old Dominion. The Huskies didn’t seem to show any fatigue from the short rest and long bus ride to Norfolk, Va. Quincy Ford nailed a three and converted a layup down low for the Huskies’ first five points, and both teams traded buckets over the game’s first 10 minutes. An advantage on the glass and added scoring punch off the bench from Chris Cooper and Trian Iliadis allowed the Monarchs to build a lead as large as 11 over the next five minutes. NU big man Kauri Black got going late by scoring six points and adding a block and two assists in the final minutes of the half to help the visitors get back in the game and trail 28-25 at halftime.
More hard work on the backboards allowed ODU to push ahead in the second half, grabbing an eight point lead with 9:55 to play. Northeastern hung around, however, and pressure defense forced turnovers which the Huskies converted into points to trail 49-47 with 6:50 to play.
The turning point of the game came with 4:44 to play. With the Huskies trailing 53-49, a poor inbounds pass was intercepted by Cooper near midcourt. Trying to prevent an easy layup or dunk, Black reached out and grabbed Cooper around the waist. The officials deemed the foul intentional, allowing ODU to get two free throws and the ball while Black’s night was done with five fouls. The momentum swing doomed the Huskies, who went 4:53 without a field goal. A late 11-1 run sealed a 69-57 victory for the hosts. Read more…
Northeastern head coach Bill Coen talks about his team falling short Monday night at Old Dominion.
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ODU guards Marquel De Lancey and Donte Hill step up to the mic and discuss what got them over the hump against the Huskies.
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Monarchs head coach Blaine Taylor said he was proud of his “prizefighting” team for battling against a game Northeastern squad.
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