Box Score |
Post-game press conference (includes a clip of Walker's game-winning shot) (video)
TOWSON, Md.—With Northeastern's 21-point lead erased, and with the game in the balance, sophomore
David Walker drained a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to lift the Huskies to a 57-54 win over Towson on Wednesday night in CAA men's basketball action. The victory was NU's sixth straight over the Tigers and snapped Towson's 13-game home-court winning streak. NU, the only remaining CAA member to win at Towson each of the last two years, became the first team to win at the Tigers' new SECU Arena.
In a tale of two halves, Northeastern (6-14, 3-3 CAA) shot a blistering 75 percent from 3-point range—56 percent overall—and employed a frustrating zone defense to take a 40-21 lead into the locker room. After the break, it was Towson's (12-7, 3-1 CAA) pressure defense that frustrated the Huskies, limiting NU to just 17 second-half points on 22 percent shooting.
The Tigers methodically chipped away at the NU lead, closing to within two with just over three minutes remaining.
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) hit a layup and, after a Towson free throw,
Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) converted a twisting put-back that appeared to give NU a comfortable five-point cushion with 30 seconds remaining. But Marcus Damas hit a long-distance three for TU and, after one Stahl free throw, Four McGlynn connected on three free throws to tie the game and set the stage for Walker's heroics.
For Walker, it was the second buzzer-beating winner of his career.
Eatherton—the nation's double-double leader—narrowly missed his 15th with 19 points and nine rebounds. Stahl also nearly notched a double-double with 10 points and nine boards. Walker (Stow, Ohio) added eight points, while
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) scored seven.
Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) and
Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.) tallied five each and
Chris Avenant (Sacramento, Calif.) chipped in with three.
Damas scored a game-high 21 points to lead Towson, and Rafriel Guthrie added 13. Jerrelle Benimon pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds, but NU limited the Tigers' leading scorer to six points.
Eatherton scored the game's first basket before four straight Towson points gave the Tigers their only lead of the game at 4-2. The Huskies then ripped off a 13-3 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Pollard, Avenant, and Peck, to take a 15-7 lead with 11 minutes to play in the half.
Minutes later, Banegas-Flores added a triple of his own to give Northeastern its first double-digit lead of the night, 23-12, at the 6:30 mark.
The Huskies had one more first-half run left in them. Up 30-19 with 3:46 to play, NU scored 10 straight to take a game-high 21-point lead with one minute showing on the clock. Stahl opened the run with a lay-up, then assisted on Eatherton's traditional three-point play. On the ensuing possession, Banegas-Flores swiped the ball and finished a lay-in and, a minute later, assisted on Walker's 3-pointer that handed NU a 40-19 lead.
The second half belonged largely to the Tigers. After a Walker jumper at 17:34 pushed the lead back to 19, the Huskies went cold and were held scoreless for nearly nine minutes. The damage could have been worse, but NU's defense limited Towson to just 11 points over the span.
Needing a basket, Northeastern turned to Eatherton, and the big man delivered with a key put-back that ended the drought and pushed the lead back to double-digits at 45-35 with 8:42 to play. Stahl followed with two free throws and it appeared the Huskies had regained their footing. But Towson continued to chip away at the lead, outscoring NU 12-2 over the next five minutes to close to within two, 49-47, with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
Stahl again came through, this time with a lay-up and, after Eatherton answered a Guthrie free throw with a twisting put-back, NU was up five with 30 seconds to go.
Towson quickly pushed the ball up the floor and Damas dialed in from deep on the left side—one of his five threes on the evening—to make it a one possession game. The Tigers immediately fouled, sending Stahl to the line, where he hit one-of-two to push the Huskies' lead to 54-51 with 23 seconds remaining.
On Towson's final possession, Damas missed a three, but Benimon kept the play alive with an offensive rebound. Moments later, McGlynn was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He hit all three free throws to knot the game at 54 with just six seconds left on the clock.
Stahl inbounded the ball to Banegas-Flores, who pushed it up the floor and found an open Walker on the right side. The sophomore, who drilled a buzzer-beater a year ago that delivered the Huskies the CAA regular-season title, calmly stroked a 30-footer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net and handed NU a 57-54 CAA road victory.
For the game, Northeastern shot 39 percent (18-46) from the floor, including 44 percent (7-16) from beyond the arc. NU connected on 64 percent (14-22) of its attempts from the line. Towson shot 32 percent (15-47) from the field, 24 percent (6-25) from long range, and 62 percent (18-29) from the line. The battle of the boards was even at 36 apiece.
Northeastern will continue its challenging CAA stretch by staying on the road to face Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y., on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Game notes
> Northeastern improved to 16-11 against Towson and has won six straight against the Tigers
> NU snapped Towson's 13-game home-court winning-streak and became the first visiting team ever to win at SECU Arena; the Huskies are the only remaining CAA member to win at Towson each of the last two years
> Sophomore
David Walker hit the second game-winning buzzer-beater of his career (Feb. 20, 2013, James Madison, 66-64)
>
Scott Eatherton (19 points) scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and 18th time this season
> Eatherton narrowly missed his 15th double-double of the season (19 points, nine rebounds)
>
Zach Stahl nearly notched his second consecutive double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds
> Junior
Reggie Spencer (injury) missed the first game of his Northeastern career (83 straight game appearances)
> Northeastern limited Towson to 32 percent shooting, the lowest for an NU opponent this season
> NU improved to 10-1 over the last two seasons when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points
> Travel note: Due to the snow storm blanketing the East Coast and the resulting flight cancelations, Northeastern arrived in Baltimore Tuesday night after a seven-hour train ride from Boston's South Station to Baltimore's Penn Station.
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