Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. — Northeastern weathered a slow start and led top-seeded Delaware early in the second half before the Blue Hens offense erupted to pull away from the No. 5 Huskies, 87-74, in the semifinal round of the 2014 CAA men's basketball championship in Baltimore.
The Huskies (11-21) used a 26-7 first-half run to erase an early 14-point deficit and scored the first five points of the second half to lead the regular-season champions, 42-39. Delaware responded, however, exploding for a 35-10 run to take a game-high 22 point lead with less than nine minutes to play. A dogged Northeastern squad chipped away at the margin and closed to within 12 but could get no closer.
Junior
Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) scored a team-high 20 points, while fellow junior and front-court mate
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) tied a career high with 18. Senior
Chris Avenant (Sacramento, Calif.), playing his final game in a Northeastern uniform, registered eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) and
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) each added eight points, while
T.J. Williams (seven points),
David Walker (four), and
Marco Banegas-Flores (one) also scored for NU. Eatherton, Spencer, and Stahl corralled eight rebounds apiece as the Huskies out-rebouded the Blue Hens, 34-29.
Davon Usher poured in 21 points to lead five Blue Hens in double figures. Jarvis Threatt added 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Delaware, which shot a blistering 76 percent in the second half and 59 percent for the game.
It took Northeastern more than five minutes to scratch the scoring column after the opening tip. The Huskies, though, mitigated the damage and trailed the high-scoring Hens just 10-0 before Spencer converted a three-point play to put NU on the board. The lead ballooned to 14 points, at 19-5, after an Usher three at 12:47 forced a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Eatherton turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play that ignited a Northeastern run. Avenant hit a free-throw line jumper and, after an Eatherton triple, hit a 3-pointer of his own and the Huskies were off and running.
Kyle Anderson (10 points) hit a three for the Hens, but NU answered with five more points, capped by a steal and layup by Stahl and a jumper by Williams. After two Threatt free throws pushed the UD lead back to three, NU again responded with five unanswered to take its first lead of the game, 26-24, with 7:16 showing on the clock.
Saddler hit a jumper in the paint for UD, but a Pollard triple and two Stahl free throws gave Northeastern its largest lead of the game, 31-26. The teams traded punches the rest of the way, with four ties before two Threatt free throws with one second remaining handed the Hens a 39-37 lead at the break.
The Huskies appeared to be in a zone when Eatherton banked home a three on the opening possession of the second half and Pollard followed with a jumper. The lead, though, was short-lived as Delaware erupted, shooting 82 percent over the first 11 minutes of the second half, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.
After eight straight points by Baptiste gave the Hens a 52-46 lead, Eatherton drew a charge on the UD big man that sent him to the bench with four fouls. The Huskies, though, could not capitalize. Saddler scored 11 of UD's next 20 points, including back-to-back threes to cap a commanding 35-10 run that pushed the margin to a game-high 22, at 74-52.
Still trailing by 20 with five minutes remaining, the scrappy group from Boston strung together an 11-3 run to close to within 12 with just over a minute to play. Pollard converted a three-point play and Avenant followed with another triple. Banegas-Flores hit one of two from the line and Williams converted back-to-back buckets in the paint to cap the run. NU, though, could get no closer as Delaware advances to its first-ever CAA tournament championship game.
For the game, Northeastern shot 40 percent (25-62) from the floor, 38 percent (5-13) from 3-point range, and 79 percent (19-24) from the free throw line — its second best free-throw shooting performance of the season. Delaware connected on 59 percent (32-54) from the floor, including a remarkable 19-of-25 (76 percent) in the second half. The Blue Hens shot 50 percent (7-14) from beyond the arc — 5-of-7 (71 percent) in the second half — and 80 percent (16-20) from the line. NU out-rebounded UD, 34-29, and enjoyed a 23-4 advantage in second-chance points.
The loss concludes the Huskies' season and closes the career of fan-favorite
Chris Avenant. A native of South Africa, Avenant played in 60 games for the Huskies, including 22 during his senior campaign. He shot 50 percent from the floor this season, including an impressive 54 percent from 3-point range. He helped NU to 56 wins over his four seasons as a player, and was a member of NU's first conference-championship team (2013) in 20 years.
Game notes
> Northeastern appeared in the CAA semifinals for the third time in five years
> Senior
Chris Avenant scored eight points, two off his career high, on 3-of-4 shooting in his final game in a Northeastern uniform
>
Scott Eatherton (20 points), scored in double figures for the third straight game and 28th time this season
>
Reggie Spencer tied a career high with 18 points for his 13th double-figure scoring game of the season
> Eatherton (eight rebounds) collected seven or more rebounds in 17 of 18 games against CAA teams this season
> Stahl (eight rebounds) grabbed eight or more rebounds in each of the final four games of the season
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