Box Score
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Northeastern stormed back from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Belmont, 74-71, on Friday night to advance to the championship game of the 2012 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. The Huskies, who twice overcame double-digit deficits in the game, took their first lead of the night with just 58 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by freshman
David Walker (Stow, Ohio).
Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) scored a team-best 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, to lead Northeastern back to the Shootout title game for the second time in as many trips. The Reggie Lewis-led Huskies advanced to the final in 1986. NU will face Charlotte (5-0) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. EST) in a game to be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
In their best offensive performance of the season, four Huskies scored in double figures. Joining Smith were
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) with 13,
Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) with 11, and
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) with 10. Walker scored six,
Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.) added four, and
Chris Avenant (Sacramento, Calif.) and
Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) tallied two apiece. Smith also led the team in rebounds (six) and assists (five) in a solid all-around performance. Ford, Peck and Spencer grabbed five caroms each to help NU to a 32-25 advantage on the boards.
Ian Clark scored a game-high 29 points to pace Belmont. The senior guard connected on 9-of-11 3-point attempts. Trevor Noack (11) and Blake Jenkins (10) also registered double digits for the Bruins (4-1), who lost for the first time this season.
A slow start put the Huskies in an early 15-point hole, 19-4, just six minutes into the game. NU closed to within three at the half, 35-32, then opened the second half with a 5-2 spurt to draw even for the first time. The teams traded baskets before Belmont reeled off 16 straight points — 14 by Clark — to grab a commanding 55-39 lead with 13 minutes to play.
But Northeastern's Cardiac Canines had been in this situation before, overcoming double-digit deficits in three of their four victories this season.
Stahl started the comeback bid with a jumper. Peck collected a steal on the next possession and Smith converted in transition to give the Huskies some momentum. Two possessions later, off an offensive rebound by Ford, Smith hit a three to narrow the margin to single digits, 55-46, with 10:20 to play, and the Huskies were on the hunt.
After a Belmont layup, Stahl hit two free throws and Peck, on a backdoor cut along the baseline, dunked home a feed from Ford to cut the margin to seven (57-50).
Two Belmont free throws pushed the lead back to nine, but back-to-back threes by Walker and Smith narrowed the gap to just three with 8:08 to play.
After Belmont increased the lead to five on two free throws, Ford scored his first field goal of the night, laying in a feed from Stahl on a baseline backdoor. The basket ignited Ford, who scored nine of his 11 points in the game's final seven minutes.
On the next possession, Walker corralled a Bruins miss and Ford converted in transition to pull the Red and Black within one, 61-60, with 6:48 remaining.
Kerron Johnson hit a jumper for Belmont and Stahl answered with two free throws. Jenkins then scored for Belmont before a Ford free throw made it a two-point game. Ninety seconds later, two more Ford free throws tied the game for just the third time.
Clark, though, continued to impress, connecting on another deep ball to put the Bruins up three, 68-65, with 3:01 to play. Two more Ford free throws closed the gap to one, where it would stay for 90 more seconds.
That's when Walker spotted up on the left wing, collected a pass from Smith, and drained the go-ahead basket. The comeback bid was complete, and the Huskies never looked back.
Two Smith free throws increased the NU lead to four. Clark tried to rally the Bruins, hitting his ninth three of the night, but two more free throws by Smith closed the scoring, giving the Huskies a dramatic 74-71 victory.
In the first half, Belmont scored the game's first five points, before Stahl got NU on the board with a layup. The Bruins then raced out to a 16-2 lead, then increased that margin to 19-4 just six minutes in.
With the Huskies seemingly in trouble, Smith dialed in from deep for his first basket of the game. Spencer followed with a put back and a free-throw-line jumper as NU regained its footing.
Peck answered a Belmont three with a tip-in and Smith again cashed in from deep to pull NU within six, 22-16. Belmont again connected from beyond the arc, but Smith answered with a three of his own.
The Bruins pushed the margin back to 11 with 6:30 to play, and still held a 10-point advantage with two minutes left in the half. The Huskies, though, rattled off seven straight points to close the half, courtesy of another three by Smith, a layup by Avenant and two free throws from Banegas-Flores.
For the game, Northeastern shot 50 percent (24-48) from the floor, 47 percent (9-19) from beyond the arc, and 81 percent (17-21) from the free throw line. Belmont was 46 percent (26-57) from the field, including 57 percent (12-21) from deep, and 70 percent (7-10) from the line.
Northeastern will face Charlotte in the Shootout championship on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m. EST) in a game to be televised nationally by CBS Sports. The 49ers advanced by defeating Oral Roberts, 72-58. NU appeared in the title game in its only other visit to Anchorage when Reggie Lewis led his 1986-87 squad to victories over No. 2 Louisville and Utah State. Fans can also listen live on WRBB (104.9 FM, wrbbsports.com).
Game notes
> Northeastern will be making its second appearance in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game; the Huskies advanced to the final in their only other tournament appearance (1986)
> Northeastern had four players reach double figures for the first time this season
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Joel Smith scored a team-best 26 points; he shot a remarkable 67 percent (6-of-9) from 3-point range; Smith's 26 points are his most since dropping 29 on St. John's on Nov. 26, 2011
>
Zach Stahl scored a career-best 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and a 4-of-4 performance at the free-throw line
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Derrico Peck played a career-high 22 minutes, and registered career marks for points (4) and rebounds (5)
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David Walker registered a career-best six points
> The Huskies registered a season-high for points with 74
> NU limited Belmont to its second-lowest point total (71) of the season
> NU is now 4-1 all-time in games played in Alaska
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