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CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Northeastern men's basketball team put together a wire-to-wire, 68-52 victory over Alabama in the first round of the Gildan Charleston Classic tournament on Thursday afternoon, and in doing so picked up their first ever program victory over an SEC opponent.
The Huskies shot 52.4 percent from the floor and were nearly perfect from the free throw line led by
Vasa Pusica's 20 point, five-assist, three-steal effort. Both
Jeremy Miller and
Bolden Brace added 11 points on the day. Miller added a block, an assist and a steal, while Brace pulled down five rebounds.
Alabama was led by John Petty, Jr. who finished with 17 points and five rebounds, the lone double-digit scorer for the Tide.
FIRST HALF
The Huskies jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes of acting prompting Avery Johnson to call his first timeout of the game with 16:22 remaining in play.
Anthony Green started things off with a slam and
Bolden Brace and Donnell Gresham knocked down a pair of treys to build up the early lead.
Northeastern got out to as much as a 12-point lead thanks to a
Jeremy Miller and-one before the Crimson Tide got back into the game and held the Huskies without a field goal for 7:37. During that time, Northeastern drew three fouls, knocking down six-straight free throws to keep the advantage heading into the half before
Vasa Pusica ended the stretch with a bucket, while
Tomas Murphy added a trey to make it a 33-22 advantage at the half.
SECOND HALF
Both teams started out the second half trading threes as Alabama tried to chip away at the Huskies lead. But Pusica found his rhythm, netting the first six points of the half for the Huskies and finished with 15 of his 20 points on the day in the second stanza.
Miller continued to add to his total, while the Huskies kept the Tide at bay, allowing them to get within seven, 44-37, with 14:25 remaining, but back-to-back treys from Brace and Pusica built that lead right back up to 13 and the Huskies finished with the 16-point , 68-52 victory over the Crimson Tide.
NEXT UP
The Huskies continue play in the Charleston Classic tomorrow, Friday Nov. 16 when they face No. 16 Virginia Tech at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
