Northeastern Advances To 3rd Consecutive CAA Semifinal
By Gregory Hunt
The men's basketball team at Northeastern took one step closer to the NCAA Tournament by beating No. 6 seeded Delaware 67-64 Saturday in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. In front of a crowd of 3,016 at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, the No. 3 seeded Huskies needed to hold off a late Blue Hens rally to pull off the victory. The Huskies now advance to the CAA semifinals where they will meet the No. 2 seeded UNC Wilmington Seahawks Sunday. The Seahawks reached the semifinals by defeating the College of Charleston Cougars 79-53 Saturday.
"We knew coming into the game tonight that we’d have our hands full," said Northeastern head coach Bill Coen. "They had tremendous size and depth on the front line, and that presented us problems. Luckily, Dave Walker and Quincy Ford stepped up and rose to the occasion.”
Junior guard Walker led the team with 17 points, including four late free throws to help seal the game. Junior forward Ford added 16 points, and each player hit a trio of three-pointers. In spite of some early foul trouble for junior guard Zach Stahl, he was still able to contribute 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Walker's play helped compensate for the relative absence of senior forward Scott Eatherton, who was also hampered by foul trouble. Eatherton, who was averaging 14.7 points coming into this game, was limited to seven points.
"It’s just taking what the defense gives you," said Walker. "The last 20 minutes, you need to just stay aggressive. My teammates had confidence in me. They kept cheering me on.”
The Huskies were able to earn the win despite getting outrebounded by the Blue Hens 25-23. Northeastern made only one offensive rebound compared to eight for Delaware. The Blue Hens also outscored the Huskies in the paint 30-26. It was a tight game from start to finish, with neither team getting a double-digit lead.
This is the third straight season the Huskies have advanced to the CAA semifinals. As the #5 seed in 2014, they lost to No. 1 Delaware 87-74 in the semifinals. As the No. 1 seed in 2013, they defeated George Mason 69-67 in the semifinals before getting upset in the championship game 70-57 by No. 3 James Madison. Northeastern joined the Colonial Athletic Association in 2005 and have yet to win a title. The last conference title for Northeastern came in 1991, when the school was a member of the America East Conference. That year, the Huskies lost 101-66 to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
UNC Wilmington swept the season series with Northeastern, winning 75-68 at Matthews Arena in Boston January 5 and winning 66-61 at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington. The Seahwaks were accurate in both games, shooting 54.4 percent from the field in Boston and 49 percent from the field in Wilmington. Both figures were well above the team's season field goal percentage of 44.2 percent. Northeastern is actually second in the CAA this season in field goal percentage, shooting 48.3 percent. Eatherton leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting 58.9 percent.
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
