Sophomore captain Matt Janning scored a game-high 27 points as the Northeastern University men's basketball team sent senior Mark Washington off with a win in his final home game as a Husky, 73-59 over George Mason Saturday at Matthews Arena.
Northeastern finishes the regular season with a 9-9 CAA record and had earned the sixth seed in the CAA Tournament. The Huskies will play James Madison in the first round next Friday night at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va. at 8:30 p.m.
Washington, who made his first start of the season today, tied his career high in rebounds with seven and contributed two points and one assist in 22 minutes of action.
Janning scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, rallying his team to the victory. He was 7-for-9 from the floor in the second half, 9-for-16 for the game. He now has scored in double digits in 17 consecutive games, the longest streak in the CAA this season, and produced his ninth 20-point game of the season.
On top of that, Janning does not shy away from the limelight. With the game being televised on Comcast SportsNet, Janning picked up his sixth 20-point game on television this season. He is averaging 21.8 points a game over 10 televised contests this season.
The first half of the game was all Northeastern as they shot 48 percent and held the Patriots (20-10, 12-6 CAA) to 35 percent from the floor. Sophomore Manny Adako had a monster first half, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
With the score at 11-10 in Mason's favor, Adako and the Huskies started a 14-0 run that gave them a 24-11 lead with 7:17 to play. Adako was responsible for six of those points while sophomore Baptiste Bataille hit a three, junior Eugene Spates hammered home a dunk and junior Chris Alvarez completed a three-point play after a nifty layup.
After Janning's jumper beat the halftime buzzer, the Huskies went into the locker room with a 30-18 advantage.
In the second half, the Patriots shot themselves back into the game, going 5-for-6 in the first 3:12 to cut the deficit to seven, 37-30.
Mason then put on a full court press on the Huskies that forced some turnovers and allowed the Patriots to get closer. They got to within two points twice late, but Janning didn't let them complete the comeback. He hit shot after shot and with only a two-point lead, he nailed a three at 3:59 to give NU breathing room. He then finished Mason off with a layup at 1:15 and free throws at 00:37.
To go with his 27 points, Janning added six rebounds and six assists. Adako finished with 18 points on the day.
Folarin Campbell had a big day for Mason, scoring 23 points. He scored 10 consecutive points for Mason early in the second half to help the team get back into the game. Will Thomas added 15 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
The Huskies, who finished their home schedule with a 7-3 record, will play in the CAA Tournament Friday night at the Richmond Coliseum against James Madison at 8:30 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
George Mason vs Northeastern
3/1/08 2 p.m. at Matthews Arena (Boston, MA)
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VISITORS: George Mason 20-10, 12-6 CAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
33 Birdsong, Louis..... f 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 14
34 Thomas, Will........ f 5-7 0-0 5-8 1 7 8 0 15 0 2 1 2 36
20 Long, Cam........... g 1-2 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 4 3 2 2 0 1 29
23 Vaughan, John....... g 4-9 0-1 1-4 0 3 3 3 9 6 1 1 1 33
42 Campbell, Folarin... g 9-16 2-5 3-5 1 2 3 2 23 3 2 0 1 38
01 Smith, Dre.......... 0-6 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 1 23
02 Carter, Jordan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 Tate, Isaiah........ 1-3 0-2 2-2 1 1 2 3 4 1 1 0 0 16
40 Fleming, Chris...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
41 Moldoveanu, Vlad.... 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 9
TEAM................
Totals.............. 22-49 4-13 11-19 7 16 23 17 59 13 11 2 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-23 34.8% 2nd Half: 14-26 53.8% Game: 44.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 30.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-4 0.0% 2nd Half: 11-15 73.3% Game: 57.9% 7
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 13-16, 9-9 CAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 Adako, Manny........ f 9-13 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 4 18 0 2 1 0 33
50 Washington, Mark.... f 1-4 0-0 0-0 4 3 7 4 2 1 2 0 0 22
54 Ojougboh, Nkem...... c 4-5 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 2 8 1 3 1 1 26
03 Allen, Chaisson..... g 2-7 0-3 1-2 0 3 3 0 5 3 1 0 4 37
23 Janning, Matt....... g 10-15 2-4 5-6 1 5 6 3 27 6 1 1 1 36
02 Alvarez, Chris...... 1-2 0-0 1-1 1 4 5 3 3 3 2 0 2 24
24 Spates, Eugene...... 1-5 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 9
25 Bataille, Baptiste.. 1-2 1-2 2-2 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 1 13
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 29-53 3-13 9-11 10 21 31 16 70 14 13 4 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-29 48.3% 2nd Half: 15-24 62.5% Game: 54.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 2-6 33.3% Game: 23.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-1 100 % 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 81.8% 0
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Officials: Andrew Marotta, Alan Spainhour, Bob Testa
Technical fouls: George Mason-None. Northeastern-None.
Attendance: 1257
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
George Mason.................. 18 41 - 59
Northeastern.................. 30 40 - 70
Points in the paint-MASON 34,NU 40. Points off turnovers-MASON 13,NU 16.
2nd chance points-MASON 6,NU 12. Fast break points-MASON 6,NU 10.
Bench points-MASON 7,NU 10. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-MASON 2nd-00:09, NU 2nd-00:28.
