Box Score |
Post-game press conference
STONY BROOK, N.Y.—Despite 45 points from its starting front court, Northeastern could not overcome hot shooting by Stony Brook and a lackluster performance at the free-throw line in a 73-66 loss at Pritchard Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) registered 20 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes to lead Northeastern (0-2). It was Eatherton's second double-double in just the second game of his NU career. The junior transfer is the first Northeastern player to post back-to-back double-doubles since Shawn James accomplished the feat in February 2006. Fellow front-court mate
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) narrowly missed a double-double of his own with 18 points, tying a career high, and eight rebounds.
David Walker (Stow, Ohio) added 13 points, five rebounds, and a game-high four assists.
Anthony Jackson scored 17 points to lead four Stony Brook (3-0) players in double figures. The Seawolves, who moved to 27-1 in their last 28 games at Pritchard Gym, had the hot hand all night. SBU shot 45 percent from the floor and an impressive 54 percent from beyond the arc.
The Huskies, who shot 42 percent from the floor, struggled from long range (27 percent) and made just 57 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line (12-21).
Eatherton scored the Huskies' first two baskets—his second at the 17-minute mark—to give NU its only lead of the game at 4-3. Jackson then rattled off five straight points for the Seawolves to open a 21-11 run and give SBU a 24-15 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Walker and Eatherton hit layups on consecutive possessions to settle the visitors and ignite a 9-2 Huskies run that narrowed the gap to just two at 26-24. From there, both offenses went cold, combining for just nine points over the half's final seven minutes, allowing Stony Brook to take a 32-27 lead into the break.
Spencer sandwiched a layup and jumper around a Jameel Warney dunk to narrow the margin to three just over a minute into the second half. The Seawolves pushed the lead back to five before a 7-2 NU run tied the game at 38 with 14:46 to play. Stahl capped the run with a layup in transition off an assist from
Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.).
The home-standing Seawolves quickly responded with a 9-2 run to take a 47-40 lead and force a Northeastern timeout.
The Huskies answered, scoring five straight points to launch a 10-4 run, and when Eatherton slammed home an offensive rebound, Northeastern trailed by just one, 51-50, with 7:30 to go.
Stony Brook, which returned four starters from last year's America East regular season championship team, scored seven straight points over the next two-and-a-half minutes to take a 58-50 lead with five minutes remaining. Northeastern could get no closer than five the rest of the way.
For the game, Northeastern shot 42 percent (25-60) from the floor, 27 percent (4-15) from 3-point range, and 57 percent (12-21) from the free-throw line. Stony Brook connected on 45 percent (27-60) of its attempts from the floor, 54 percent (6-11) from 3-point range, and 65 percent (13-20) from the charity stripe.
Northeastern won the rebounding battle, 40-38. The Huskies, who collected 41 rebounds in the opener, hit the 40-rebound mark in consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 30, 2011.
NU will welcome Central Connecticut to Cabot Center on Saturday in a rare throw-back game at the Huskies' former home venue. The game will be part of the university's Homecoming celebration, and tipoff is set for 4 p.m. NU defeated CCSU, 82-63, a season ago in New Britain, Conn.
GAME NOTES
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Scott Eatherton (20 points, 13 rebounds) posted his second double-double in as many games; he is the first NU player to post back-to-back double-doubles since Shawn James in February 2006
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Reggie Spencer tied a career high with 18 points; he narrowly missed his own double-double with eight rebounds
> For the first time since Nov. 30, 2011, Northeastern collected 40 or more rebounds in consecutive games
> Stony Brook improved to 27-1 in its last 28 games in Pritchard Gym
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