CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL RECAP - FEB. 6
Northeastern 75, Hofstra 55
Box Score
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Northeastern University men's basketball team opened the second half on a 20-3 run and held Hofstra to 32 percent shooting as the Huskies overcame a first-half deficit to beat the Pride 75-55 Saturday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex in Hempstead, N.Y. Matt Janning led Northeastern with 17 points.
The win is Northeastern's third straight and 14th out of the last 15 contests. With losses by George Mason and Old Dominion, Northeastern (16-8, 11-2 CAA) is now in sole possession of first place in the CAA. Hofstra (12-13, 5-8 CAA) has its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Huskies overcame being outrebounded 49-27 by forcing 19 Hofstra turnovers, including a season-high 15 steals, that they converted into 25 points. NU overcame a poor first-half shooting effort to end up 21-for-49 from the field (43 percent) with 13 assists against eight turnovers. The team also had a season-high 28 free throws on a season-high 35 attempts.
After trailing at the half by two, 32-30, the Huskies came out barking in the second half with basket after basket. Janning got the run going with a long three as the shot clock was winding down to put NU on top 33-32. After Mikos Szabo hit one of two free throws to tie the game, NU took over with a 9-0 run. Adako hit a short-arm hook shot to put the Huskies back on top 35-33. Then Hofstra's Charles Jenkins tried a layup inside, but Nkem Ojougboh swatted it away, sending it towards midcourt. Chaisson Allen grabbed it and ran to the basket for a layup and a foul. He missed the free throw, but the Huskies went on top 37-33. Allen then made up for the miss with a three-pointer in the corner, giving NU a seven-point lead, 40-33, at 16:40.
Cornelius Vines broke the scoreless streak with a pair of free throws, but the Huskies did not relent. Allen then dribbled through the lane for a layup, Adako picked up a layup off a inbound bounce pass from Allen, and then Allen stole the ball from Halil Kanacevic and ran it home for a a fastbreak layup, putting the Huskies up 50-35 at the 11:14 mark.
From there, Hofstra only got as close as 10. The Huskies got into the bonus quickly and made 19-of-24 free throw attempts in the second half. The Pride made only seven field goals in the second half, three of them coming after NU had taken a 20-point lead and pulled its starters.
Jenkins led Hofstra with 14 points, but he was only 3-for-11 from the floor. In addition to Janning's 17, Allen had 16 points, and Adako added 14. He recovered from a 1-for-7 start to go 7-for-15 from the field. Baptiste Bataille had 11 points and a career-high six steals.
The first half was back and forth with both teams going on extended runs. Hofstra opened up the game on a 15-2 run as the Huskies failed to connect on a field goal attempt in the first 5:49. The Pride had three buckets on putbacks during the 15-2 run, including a pair by Szabo.
Northeastern bounced back with a 16-0 run of its own to make the Pride sweat. Ojougboh got the run started with a three-point play at 14:11. Janning followed with a three-pointer. A few minutes later on a loose ball, Kanacevic grabbed Bataille, causing an intentional foul. Bataille made both free throws. Then Janning made a spin move around his defender for a layup at 11:35 to tie the game at 15-15.
Bataille then gave the Huskies their first lead of the game with a three-pointer at 10:41 off a pass from Kauri Black.
That sparked a wild finish to the half that included eight lead changes and four ties. Allen had a turnaround jumper at 3:34 to put NU up 27-25. Cornelius Vines then followed with a wide open three at 3:11 to put the Pride back on top. Vinny Lima immediately answered for NU with a three-pointer off a kickout pass from Bataille at 2:55. The half ended with a mini 4-0 Hofstra run as the Pride led 32-30 at the break.
Northeastern next has a home date with Georgia State this Wednesday at Matthews Arena at 7 p.m.
VCU 70, Old Dominion 58
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. - There is a scene in Rocky IV that Rocky Balboa is running up snow covered mountains to train for his battle with Ivan Drago.
It was only fitting then, that on a day where the faithful followers of Virginia Commonwealth University men's basketball drudged through snow covered roads and sidewalks that an import from Russia would serve as the key to a 70-58 victory over the Monarchs of Old Dominion University.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of our guys today, especially the way we locked down defensively," Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "ODU is one of the best defensive teams in the country and we challenged our guys to be even better today and that's exactly what we were able to do."
Making his first start of the season, senior Kirill Pishchalnikov (Maykop, Russia) went 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line for a season-high 14 points, while also grabbing five rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
"Kirill was tremendous for us," Smart said. "He's such a great kid and he's been outstanding all year. At times, he saw his minutes decreasing, but he continued to bring the same energy and dedication to practice and it's paid off. He really appreciates what it means to be a part of this program."
Junior Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla.) came off the bench to register his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Bradford Burgess (Midlothian, Va.) led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He also added six rebounds and three steals to the victorious effort.
"I had a lot of determination coming into this game, but coming off the bench increased that in more," Sanders said. "This is a big win for us and we just have to stay focused, continue to work hard and get better every day."
It was never easy for the Black & Gold as Kent Bazemore slammed home a dunk with 12:31 to play to give Old Dominion an early 18-8 advantage.
Burgess would then turn it on, scoring six of VCU's nine points in a 9-0 run that got the Rams within one at 18-17.
Neither team would lead by more than five points the rest of the half as the Monarchs would take a 33-31 lead into the intermission.
The Rams would lock down on the defensive end in the final 20 minutes, forcing ODU into nine turnovers and a 33.3% from the field. On the offensive end, Sanders and classmate Joey Rodriguez (Oviedo, Fla.) combined for 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the second half to help VCU outscore the Monarchs by 14 after halftime.
"I thought we did a good job of working hard defensively," Smart said. "We have a couple different styles of presses that we use and ODU was able to handle one pretty good, so we had to make adjustments, but our guys were able to do that and cause some problems for them."
Bazemore was the leader of the Monarch attack, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Frank Hassell was the other player in double-figures for ODU with 10 points and five rebounds.
Old Dominion entered the contest ranking fifth in the country in rebounding margin with a +8.8 mark. The Black & Gold hit the glass hard, winning the rebounding battle by a tally of 39-37. Every player that played at least three minutes had a rebound.
"We work on a technique we called gang rebounding. It's basically that all five players hit the boards and if one guy isn't going to get the rebound, he's going to clear the way for one of his teammates to grab it," Smart said. "That's exactly what we were able to do tonight."
The crowd of 7,556 marked the fourth sellout of the season for VCU, tying a school record set in 2007-08.
The Rams now sit just a game out of second place with a road contest at George Mason looming on Tuesday night in Fairfax. Tip time is set for 7 p.m. with the game being televised on ESPNU.
Drexel 73, George Mason 60
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Chris Fouch came off the bench to score 17 points and Jamie Harris added 14 points and five assists as Drexel defeated George Mason in the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 73-60. It was the fifth win in the last six games for the Dragons, who improved to 9-4 in the CAA.
The Dragons (14-11) shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half and went 20-for-25 from the line over the final 20 minutes to preserve the win. Mason (15-9, 10-3) trailed by just two early in the half after Cam Long sank a three-pointer, but that was as close as they would come the rest of the way. Fouch had nine of his 17 in the final 20 minutes as Drexel sealed the game from the charity stripe. Drexel made 10 of its final 12 free throw attempts in the final 2:49. Evan Neisler, who led the team with nine rebounds, was 7-for-8 from the line, all late in the game, as Drexel snapped a four-game losing streak against the Patriots in front of a sparse crowd due to the blizzard which hit the Northeast on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Mason opened up and early 18-6 lead as the Dragons made just one of their first nine shots. In the game, the Patriots lead didn't last for long as the Dragons went on a 21-2 run late in the half. Drexel had four three-pointers during that stretch, two from Fouch and one each from Gerald Colds and Jamie Harris. Drexel took a 29-24 to intermission and never trailed again in the contest.
The Dragons had four players in double figures scoring. Harris finished 5-for-8 from the floor and scored 14 points, while Gerald Colds and Samme Givens each added 10 points. Kevin Phillip played well off the bench, scoring six points and picking up seven boards.
Mike Morrison and Long each had 17 points to lead Mason. Ryan Pearson added 12 points and nine rebounds, but was just 5-for-17 from the floor. Mason struggled from the line, making just 11 of its 24 attempts and shot 44 percent from the line in the second half.
Drexel is back in action on Wednesday night. The Dragons face Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y., at 7 p.m.
William & Mary 59, Georgia State 56
Box Score
ATLANTA, Ga. -- A second-half rally led the William and Mary men's basketball team to the program's eighth road victory of the season, 59-56, against Georgia State at the GSU Sports Arena on Saturday night. W&M trailed by eight points at the half, but held the Panthers to just 22 points in the second half and scored 10 of the game's final 11 points to pull out the victory. The College improved to 16-7 overall and 8-5 in CAA play, while GSU, who upset the CAA's top team in George Mason on Wednesday, fell to 10-15 on the year and 4-9 in league action.
The Tribe's eight road wins this year rank as the second most in school history, trailing only the nine set by the 1949-50 season, while the 16 overall wins rank as the seventh most in school history. Sophomore forward Quinn McDowell led four Tribe players in double figures with 17 points. He knocked down three 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior guard David Schneider finished with 15 points, including a game-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Sean McCurdy and junior forward Marcus Kitts each tallied 10 points for the Green and Gold. McCurdy led the Tribe with four assists compared to just one turnover, while Kitts finished with five rebounds.
After the Tribe tied the game for the first time since midway through the first half on a Schneider 3-pointer from the right corner with 5:03 left in the contest, Georgia scored six straight points. A Joe Dukes steal and fastbreak lay-up capped the mini-run and put the Panthers on top, 55-49 with 3:13 remaining.
It was all Tribe from there as W&M scored 10 of the game's final 11 points to pull out the narrow win. McCurdy ignited the run with his second 3-pointer of the game on the ensuing Tribe possession to close the gap to a single possession. After a Schneider free throw, McDowell was fouled on the drive to the basket and connected on both freebies to tie the game at 55 with 1:31 remaining.
The next trip down the court for Georgia State resulted in a foul off an offensive rebound, sending Dukes to the free throw line with 52 seconds remaining. He made 1-of-2 to put the Panthers back on top, 56-55.
On the ensuing Tribe possession, Kitts came up with a huge play. After receiving the ball at the top of the key, the Holly Springs, N.C., native spun to the middle of the floor and finished at the rim in traffic while getting fouled. He missed the free throw, but still gave the College a lead it would never relinquish at 57-56 with 27.2 seconds remaining.
After a Georgia State timeout with 18.4 seconds left, the Panthers worked the ball around to the right corner, but Trae Goldston's 3-point attempt was contested by McCurdy and the ball hit off the back iron before McDowell pulled down the rebound. He was fouled and calmly hit both free throws to give W&M a 59-56 advantage with just 9.1 seconds remaining. On the other end, McCurdy and sophomore Kendrix Brown blanketed Goldston and didn't allow him to get the ball, while Dowell covered Marquis Johnson, whose 3-point attempt from the top of the key was short and off the mark at the horn, preserving the Tribe victory.
W&M finished the game shooting 38.3 percent (18-of-47) from the field, while hitting on seven 3-pointers. The Green and Gold also did a good job of getting to the free throw line, hitting on 16-of-20 from the charity stripe. Georgia State shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) for the game, but just 32 percent (8-of-25) in the second half.
The Panthers scored the first four points of the game, before W&M pulled even for the first time at eight on a McCurdy 3-pointer with 15:15 left in the first half to force a GSU timeout. Senior forward Steven Hess found McDowell on a backdoor cut for a lay-up, giving the College its first lead of the game at 10-8.
The Tribe led 12-10 before GSU scored seven straight points. Goldston scored the final five points of the run, putting the Panthers on top 17-12 with 10:54 remaining. The College bounced back with a seven-point spurt of its own to retake the lead 19-17 after Schneider scored five straight points, including a pull-up jumper from the left side.
Georgia State scored the game's next seven points to regain control. A Goldston 3-pointer at the 6:01 mark gave the Panthers' a 24-19 advantage. The GSU lead ballooned to nine points after an alley-oop dunk by Trey Hampton from Dukes. The jam at the 2:09 mark put the Panthers on top, 32-23, and forced a W&M timeout. The Panthers took an eight-point advantage, 34-26, to the locker room.
The GSU lead again reached nine, 37-28, after a 3-pointer from Goldston less than 40 seconds into the second frame. The College scored five straight points and narrowed the gap to 37-33 following a Sumner free throw at the 15:34 mark. Ousman Krubally answered for Georgia State with five straight points and his free throw at the 14-minute mark pushed GSU's lead back to nine points, 42-33.
W&M slowly chipped away at the lead in the back-and-forth action. A steal by McCurdy led to a cutting lay-up from freshman Matt Rum to cut the deficit to three, 47-44, at the 7:01 mark. Two McCurdy free throws just over a minute later closed the margin to one. After a Xavier Hansbro jumper, McCurdy found Schneider open in the corner for a triple to tie the game at 49 with 5:03 remaining.
The Tribe finished with 11 assists compared to just seven turnovers, including just one in the second half. W&M also held a 32-31 advantage on the glass. Goldston led GSU with 15 points, while Krubally tallied 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Green and Gold returns home for a pair of games next week, starting with a Wednesday night, Feb. 10, affair against Delaware. The Tribe-Blue Hen game is slated for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena. W&M fans can catch all the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum. The broadcast, as well as live stats, can be found at TribeAthletics.com. The W&M live video feed is available for $8 at TribeAthletics.com as well.