Matt Janning scored a game-high 27 points and the Northeastern men's basketball team's defense limited Holy Cross to 36 percent shooting as the Huskies downed Holy Cross 61-49 Saturday night in the home opener at Matthews Arena.
The Huskies improve to 3-1 on the young season while the Crusaders fall to 2-2. This game was scheduled as a return game for last season's ESPNU BracketBusters event, and the Huskies exacted revenge for their 61-47 loss to the Cross in Worcester.
For Janning, it was his 13th career 20-point game and the 27 points are tied for his third-best output of his career. It also extended his double figure scoring streak to 23 games, the longest active streak in the CAA. The junior captain was 7-for-11 from the field, 4-for-5 from three-point range, and 9-for-12 from the free throw line.
Northeastern never trailed in this game, breaking out on a 14-0 run to start the game. The first basket was a nifty alley oop pass from Chaisson Allen to Nkem Ojougboh, who softly laid the basket in. The long run culminated with Janning's three-pointer at 13:16 of the first half. Holy Cross finally got on the board at 12:51 with a three-point play from Andrew Keister.
The Huskies were up 23-9 on a dunk from Ojougboh when the Crusdaders made it a game with a 12-1 run from 8:40 to 5:59. Andrew Beinert's three-pointer cut the deficit to three, 24-21.
However, NU finished the half strong. Janning connected on a fast break layup at 4:41 to extend the lead to five, 26-21. He the nailed a jumper off a Cross turnover at 3:57 to make it 28-21. Ojougboh closed out the first half with a dunk at 00:54, giving the Huskies a 33-25 lead at the break.
In the second half, Janning continued to heat up while the Crusaders' outside shooting went cold. Janning opened the scoring with a three, and at the first media timeout, NU led by nine, 40-31. A three-point play from Manny Adako and free throws from Allen extended the lead to 14, 45-31, with 13:31 left.
After Greg McCarthy's field goal at 12:35 and R.J. Evans' field goal at 11:57, Janning scored the next eight points of the game. He drilled a three at 11:33, made a pair of free throws at 10:47 and knocked down another three at 9:42. The second three gave the Huskies a game-high 18-point advantage, 53-35.
Holy Cross would cut it to 11 late, but did not come closer. The Crusaders could not hit their outside shots, going 0-for-8 from three-point range in the second half. Holy Cross' field goal percentage in the second half was just 29.6 percent. The Crusaders did not help their own cause with 21 turnovers.
McCarthy and May led HC with 11 points. In addition to Janning's 27, Ojougboh scored 12 points and had three blocks.
Northeastern next hosts Boston University this Tuesday at Matthews Arena at 8 p.m. The game will be televised live on NESN. The game is part of a NU-BU hoops doubleheader at Matthews, with the two women's teams squaring off at 5 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Holy Cross vs Northeastern
11/22/08 7 p.m. at Matthews Arena (Boston, MA)
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VISITORS: Holy Cross 2-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 Alex Vander Baan.... f 1-3 0-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 2 0 1 1 2 24
33 Colin Cunningham.... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
53 Eric Meister........ f 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 10
12 Adam May............ g 2-11 0-2 7-8 1 1 2 4 11 2 0 0 0 25
22 Andrew Beinert...... g 3-8 1-5 0-2 1 0 1 0 7 2 3 0 2 35
02 Devin Brown......... 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 2 4 3 2 0 1 19
03 Lawrence Dixon...... 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 3 1 3 1 0 12
10 R.J. Evans.......... 4-12 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 4 8 0 5 0 2 27
34 Andrew Keister...... 1-2 0-1 1-1 4 4 8 2 3 1 2 0 0 23
42 Josh Jones.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 5
45 Greg McCarthy....... 4-5 0-0 3-5 1 3 4 5 11 0 1 0 0 18
TEAM................ 2 4 6
Totals.............. 17-47 2-13 13-18 14 21 35 23 49 9 21 2 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-20 45.0% 2nd Half: 8-27 29.6% Game: 36.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 0-8 0.0% Game: 15.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 72.2% 1,1
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 3-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
24 Spates, Eugene...... f 2-4 1-3 2-4 0 3 3 4 7 0 1 0 2 27
32 Adako, Manny........ f 4-11 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 1 9 0 0 0 1 32
54 Ojougboh, Nkem...... c 5-6 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 2 12 3 3 3 1 33
03 Allen, Chaisson..... g 0-3 0-0 3-5 0 5 5 3 3 5 3 0 1 28
23 Janning, Matt....... g 7-11 4-5 9-12 0 4 4 3 27 1 4 0 2 39
01 Etherly, Erik....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
02 Alvarez, Chris...... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 1 20
11 Lima, Vinny......... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 6
25 Bataille, Baptiste.. 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 3 2 0 2 13
TEAM................ 3 1 4
Totals.............. 19-41 6-12 17-24 6 20 26 19 61 13 14 3 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-25 52.0% 2nd Half: 6-16 37.5% Game: 46.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-7 42.9% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 13-18 72.2% Game: 70.8% 1
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Officials: Roberto Marquez, Gary Pucino, Peter Palermino
Technical fouls: Holy Cross-None. Northeastern-None.
Attendance: 2123
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Holy Cross.................... 25 24 - 49
Northeastern.................. 33 28 - 61
Points in the paint-HC 20,NU 22. Points off turnovers-HC 10,NU 21.
2nd chance points-HC 13,NU 5. Fast break points-HC 2,NU 2.
Bench points-HC 29,NU 3. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-HC 2nd-02:53, NU 2nd-09:42.
Largest lead-HC None, NU by 18 2nd-09:42.
