Sophomore Shawn James recorded a triple-double with a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 blocks as he led Northeastern to a 79-74 victory over Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena. It is the third career triple-double for James as well as the third in Northeastern basketball history.
James had an outstanding afternoon shooting as he converted 10-of-13 shots to lead the Huskies (13-8, 9-4 CAA) in sinking 29-of-56 from the floor for 51.8 percent while holding the Rams (15-6, 9-4 CAA) to 28-for-78 from the field, for 35.9 percent. With the victory the Huskies pulled even with VCU in the CAA standings.
The Rams held a 13-11 advantage 4:54 into the game after a three-pointer from Nick George, who scored 11 of VCU's first 13 points. But Northeastern rattled off a 7-0 run to take a five-point advantage at 18-13 with 13:44 remaining in the period. The Huskies would not relinquish their lead the rest of the game, but the Rams cut their deficit to just one at 29-28 with 3:44, before NU opened the lead back to seven at the half.
The Huskies came out in the second half strong by extending their advantage to 51-38 after a jumper from Adrian Martinez at 12:19. VCU chipped away again, closing within four points at 53-49 after a layup by B.A. Walker. But the Huskies once again regained a double-digit lead after James converted a traditional three-point play to go up 62-52 with 5:25 remaining.
The Rams mounted one final comeback attempt after a deep three-pointer at 0:48 from Alex Harper closed the gap to 76-71, but the Huskies held off a tough VCU squad by forcing two Ram turnovers in the final minute, as well as James recording his 10th block with just 0:17 remaining the clock.
James played a career-high 37 minutes as he finally broke through after nearly recording triple-doubles on five occasions this season. Senior Jose Juan Barea also turned in a solid effort for the Huskies with 22 points, nine assists, and six rebounds as he converted 9-of-10 free throws to help seal the win for the Huskies. Bennet Davis scored six points and grabbed nine boards and Aaron Davis chipped in with eight points and four boards, while Bobby Kelly scored nine and gathered six off the glass.
George turned in a spectacular afternoon as well for Virginia Commonwealth, with 28 points and 13 rebounds for his 13th career double-double. Walker had 15 points in the effort while Alex Harper scored 13 with a team-high four assists.
The Huskies hit the road next week for a rematch with Drexel on Thursday beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.
NOTES: James recorded triple-doubles last season against Iona (17 points, 12 rebounds, 11 blocks) on Dec. 30, 2004 and in the regular-season finale against Albany (15 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks) on Feb. 27, 2005.
Official Basketball Box Score
Virginia Commonwealth vs Northeastern
02/04/06 1:00 p.m. at Matthews Arena (Boston, Mass.)
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VISITORS: Virginia Commonwealth 15-6, 9-4 CAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 Walker, B.A......... * 6-14 3-9 0-2 2 2 4 2 15 1 0 0 3 36
21 George, Nick........ * 9-20 3-5 7-10 7 6 13 1 28 2 4 0 0 36
25 Harper, Alexander... * 5-10 3-4 0-0 2 2 4 3 13 4 2 1 1 35
32 Shuler, Jamal....... * 2-10 1-6 0-1 2 1 3 1 5 0 0 0 0 21
40 Faulk, Sam.......... * 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 17
03 Maynor, Eric........ 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 7
04 Anderson, Michael... 3-5 0-1 0-0 3 1 4 4 6 2 1 2 0 16
23 Pellot-Rosa, Jesse.. 1-8 0-1 0-0 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 21
31 Davis, Eric......... 1-6 0-0 1-2 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 11
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 28-78 10-27 8-15 25 17 42 14 74 10 7 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-36 36.1% 2nd Half: 15-42 35.7% Game: 35.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-9 11.1% 2nd Half: 9-18 50.0% Game: 37.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-11 45.5% Game: 53.3% 4
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 13-8, 9-4 CAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Barea, Jose Juan.... * 6-17 1-5 9-10 0 6 6 2 22 9 5 0 1 35
12 Davis, Aaron........ * 3-6 0-3 2-4 2 2 4 1 8 2 0 0 0 37
14 Davis, Bennet....... * 3-7 0-1 0-0 2 7 9 4 6 2 3 0 0 30
21 James, Shawn........ * 10-13 1-3 5-7 5 5 10 2 26 3 1 10 1 37
22 Kelly, Bobby........ * 4-6 1-2 0-0 2 4 6 0 9 1 3 0 1 34
04 Cyprian, Chris...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
11 Martinez, Adrian.... 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 12
33 Cole, Janon......... 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 4 6 1 0 0 0 13
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 29-56 3-16 18-23 12 28 40 13 79 18 13 10 3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-27 51.9% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 51.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 0-6 0.0% Game: 18.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-6 100 % 2nd Half: 12-17 70.6% Game: 78.3% 3
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Officials: Gary Prager, Tim Kelly, James Bruno
Technical fouls: Virginia Commonwealth-None. Northeastern-None.
Attendance: 2076
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Virginia Commonwealth......... 30 44 - 74
Northeastern.................. 37 42 - 79
Shawn James records third career triple-double with career-high 26 points
Points in the paint-VCU 30,NU 38. Points off turnovers-VCU 14,NU 9.
2nd chance points-VCU 21,NU 19. Fast break points-VCU 4,NU 4.
Bench points-VCU 13,NU 8. Score tied-5 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-VCU 2nd-00:00, NU 2nd-00:04.
