Box score
Four players scored in double figures for a Northeastern team that shot 58.5 percent in the game and defeated VCU 74-62 Saturday in front of a raucous Matthews Arena crowd of 2,858. It is the Huskies' 11th consecutive victory, and they have the third-longest active winning streak in the nation.
"There was a lot of electricity in the building today, and rightly so," said Northeastern head coach
Bill Coen. "These two teams have played well up to this point. We met a tremendous opponent today, and we did all we could do to come out on top. We were fortunate today to come away with a very emotional and inspired victory.
"The crowd was tremendous today...the enthusiasm of the students really fueled several of our rallies and kind of willed us to victory, so much appreciation to the students who stepped up today and helped us out."
The Huskies (13-7, 8-1 CAA) are in the midst of their longest winning streak since the 1986-87 season. Northeastern's all-time longest winning run is 13, set during the 1985-86 season. NU has won eight straight conference games and has won five in a row at Matthews Arena.
VCU (13-5, 5-4 CAA) suffered its first regular season sweep since losing to UNC Wilmington and George Mason during the 2005-06 season. The Huskies knocked off the Rams 62-57 in Richmond, Va., back on Jan. 4.
Northeastern overcame a double-double performance by Larry Sanders (22 points, 10 rebounds) to hold the Rams to 38 percent shooting (22-for-58). No other VCU player reached double digits in scoring. Meanwhile, the NU offense, which ranks first in the CAA in shooting percentage, was 24-for-41 from the field (58.5 percent) and 21-for-30 (70 percent) from the charity stripe.
Nkem Ojougboh scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from both the field and the line to lead Northeastern. He also had seven rebounds and three blocks.
Chaisson Allen had 16 points, six boards, four steals and three assists.
Matt Janning had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Manny Adako chipped in 12 points.
Although VCU had a lead in the game for just a mere 13 seconds, the first half was competitive. NU grabbed a six-point lead four separate times in the half, but each time the Rams answered to stay within two possessions of the Huskies. Janning was NU's first-half catalyst with 12 points and three assists. He answered Joey Rodriguez's three-pointer with one of his own at 13:15 to put NU up four, 16-12. He also had a big underneath pass to Ojougboh at 5:23 that led to a monstrous dunk and a 29-24 lead.
VCU cut that advantage to one, 30-29, after a three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Ed Nixon, but the Huskies wound up with a 35-31 halftime lead after Janning's jumper with 42 seconds left.
In the second half, Northeastern's offense and defense took things up a notch. After Sanders had a dunk at 16:36 to tie the game at 37-37, the Huskies went on a 8-2 run that culminated with Ojougboh blocking a Rodriguez shot, Adako grabbing the rebound and finding Allen, who drilled home a fastbreak three-pointer at 14:35, putting NU up 45-39 and sending the crowd into a wild frenzy.
The Huskies stretched their lead to eight before VCU came from behind to cut it to three after Sanders' layup at 9:38 made it 53-50. However, NU clamped down and buried the Rams with an 11-2 run that included a pair of buckets by Allen and a dunk and mid-range jumper by Ojougboh. The Huskies led 64-52 with 5:05 remaining in the contest.
From that point forward, the Huskies won the game with their free throws, making 8-of-11 in the game's final four minutes. The Huskies held the Rams to 35 percent shooting in the second half while shooting 60 percent themselves.
Northeastern will look to hold serve at home and go for its 12th straight victory this Wednesday against Drexel at Matthews Arena at 7 p.m.
