Box score

The Northeastern University men's basketball team had its best offensive output of the season, shooting 56.6 percent from the field in a 73-60 win over SMU in the consolation bracket of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

Four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Matt Janning, who had a team-high 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. For the tournament, Janning averaged 16.3 points for the tournament.

Northeastern (3-7) came out in the first half with a fire that led to its best offensive first half of the season. Allen led the charge early with a quick basket nine seconds into the game, and he then drained a three-pointer off a pass from Janning at 18:24 to put NU up 7-4.

SMU (4-6) made a game of it early and tied NU on Derek Williams' basket at 12:53 to make it 13-13. There were two more ties before the Huskies went on a 23-10 run to end the half. Turnovers played a big part in the Huskies' resurgence. Allen got the run going by stripping Ryan Harp and passing to Joel Smith for a fastbreak dunk. SMU immediately turned the ball over again and Allen made the Mustangs pay with a three-pointer at 9:19, giving the Huskies a 22-17 advantage.

Towards the end of the half, the Huskies turned on the jets with a 7-0 run that included three SMU turnovers. Mathiang Muo punctuated the run with a three-pointer on a kickout pass from Janning at 4:03. The Huskies went scoreless for the next three minutes, but Muo again came up big with another three-pointer off a pass from Baptiste Bataille. Jonathan Lee finished off the half with a layup in traffic as Northeastern led SMU at the break 40-27.

SMU turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, which led to 14 Huskies points.

In the second half, the Huskies were quick to jump on the Mustangs with 7 of the half's first 10 points. Allen started the second half the same way he started the first: with a trey. Manny Adako got into the act with a mid-range jumper off a pass from Alwayne Bigby. Janning gave the Huskies their largest lead, 17 points, with a crisp layup at 17:24.

SMU battled back to come within 10, 49-39, but the Huskies once again came back with a big 10-2 run that included two baskets by Nkem Ojougboh, who was 7-for-8 from the field.

The Mustangs did not lay down, however, as the Huskies went into a bit of a lull. SMU went on a 13-2 run as the Huskies made just one basket between 11:38 and 3:54. Rodney Clinkscales got SMU as close as it would get with a three-pointer in the corner with NU defenders right on him. The Mustangs were within seven, 61-54, with 4:36 to play.

However, Adako stepped up and put the game out of reach. He drained a jumper at 3:54 to wake the Huskies up. He then knocked down another mid-range jumper after SMU missed a three-pointer. Then after another SMU miss, Matt Janning drove to the hoop for a layup that rimmed out, but Adako was there for the big putback. Janning then made good on the miss with a layup at 1:10, capping an 8-0 Husky run and giving the team a 69-54 lead.

In the last minute of the game, SMU tried to press and foul. The Huskies had trouble with fouls and inbounding the ball, but SMU could not get close enough to make it matter. The Mustangs had nine free throw attempts in the final minute, but made just six of them.

Williams led SMU with 19 points. Papa Dia added 16 and Paul McCoy chipped in 15. The Mustangs shot well from the field, 45.7 percent, but were just 3-for-12 (25 percent) from long range.

In addition to Janning's 16, Allen had 16, Ojougboh scored 14 and Adako finished with 10. Bataille made important contributions off the bench with six points, five rebounds and four assists.

Northeastern will look to build on this win as the Huskies play Santa Clara in the first round of the Cable Car Classic next Tuesday in Santa Clara, Calif., at 9 p.m., Eastern, 6 p.m., Pacific.