Northeastern's Late Rally Stuns Blue Hens as Huskies Post Dramatic 62-61 CAA Victory Over Delaware
January 25, 2012
File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
• Boxscore
BOSTON, Mass. -- Northeastern guard Joel Smith buried a 20-foot jumper with 1.1 seconds left to cap a dramatic last-minute Northeastern rally as the Huskies came back from five points down in the final 52 seconds to stun the University of Delaware, 62-61, in CAA men's basketball action Wednesday night at Matthews Arena.
The Blue Hens, who had a two-game winning streak snapped while falling to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in the league, appeared to have the game in hand when Devon Saddler buried a three-pointer from the top of the key to put UD up 61-56 with 52.5 seconds remaining.
However Northeastern, which snapped a two-game slide as the Huskies improved to 10-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play, would not quit.
Jonathan Lee was fouled driving to the basket and hit two subsequent free throws, and after a pair of Northeastern fouls, Blue Hen guard Khalid Lewis threw the ball out of bounds to give possession back to the Huskies with 24.8 seconds on the clock.
Northeastern’s Quincy Ford then missed a three-point attempt but Kauri Black grabbed the offensive rebound, and after getting fouled by UD guard Kyle Anderson, he drained a pair from the foul line to make it a one-point game with 13.7 seconds to go.
Saddler was then fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 ,and after the Huskies grabbed the rebound, they called time out with 5.7 seconds on the clock.
Smith then found himself open on the left wing and buried a jumper just inside the three-point line to put the Huskies in front, and after a UD time out, Josh Brinkley’s desperation inbounds pass hit the scoreboard, and Northeastern inbounded the ball to run off the final second.
Smith finished with 20 points to lead the Huskies, who snapped a three-game losing streak to Delaware. Lee added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Ford had nine points and Reggie Spencer contributed eight points and a team-leading eight boards.
Saddler (at right) finished with a game-high 24 points for Delaware while surpassing the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season, while Jamelle Hagins added 19 points and six rebounds. Jarvis Threatt continued his strong play by notching eight points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals, while Brinkley finished with eight points.
“This was a back and forth game that was tight throughout,” said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. “They made a big shot at the end to win the game so you have to give them credit, but we gave it away. They went to the free throw line late and converted and we didn’t, and that was a big difference in the game.”
Northeastern took an early 6-2 lead as both teams struggled from the field early, but consecutive inside baskets by Hagins capped a 10-2 Delaware spurt that put the Blue Hens in front 12-8 with eight minutes to play in the first half.
The Huskies answered with six points to regain the lead, and the rest of the half was tightly-contested until three free throws in the final two minutes by Threatt sent the teams into the break tied at 22-22.
Delaware hit just 8 of its 27 field goal attempts in the opening half and missed all six three-point attempts, but the Blue Hens limited Northeastern to just 26.9 percent shooting as NU went only 7 of 26 from the field.
The Blue Hens opened the second half with increased energy, as Saddler scored all of UD’s points during a 9-3 Delaware run that put the visitors up 31-25 with 17:11 remaining.
Northeastern battled back to tie the game at 35-35 on a three-point play by Spencer, and after a Brinkley dunk, Lee drained a three-pointer to give the Huskies their first lead of the half with 13 minutes to play.
NU’s lead grew to as much as five, and the Huskies held the advantage until a three-point play by Hagins knotted the contest at 50-50 with 6:29 remaining. Lewis then found Brinkley for a dunk to put the Blue Hens in front, and after Lee hit a three-pointer for NU, Saddler scored inside to give Delaware a 54-53 advantage with just under five minutes to go.
Neither team scored during the next two minutes, until Anderson found Hagins inside for a monster slam that put the Blue Hens up three with three minutes on the clock. Ford nailed a three-pointer from the right wing to bring the Huskies even, but following a NU turnover Hagins converted a reverse dunk to put Delaware back up a pair with 1:48 left.
After a misses by the Huskies’ Lee, Saddler drained a contested three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down to increase the margin to 61-56 with 52.5 seconds to play, but Northeastern countered with the final six points to pull out the victory.
Delaware will look to bounce back on Saturday when the Blue Hens travel to rival Drexel for a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Daskalakis Center.
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