Friday, December 25, 2009

Live blog vs. SMU

With no television today, the Huskies Insider takes over as your source for the game action. Northeastern will wrap up its Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic experience with a contest against the SMU Mustangs. With the 9 a.m. start on Christmas Day, this is the earliest game the Huskies have ever played and the first time the program has played on Dec. 25.

10:57 a.m. - The game is over as Northeastern comes away with a 73-62 victory over SMU, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Huskies were led by Matt Janning, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. NU now gains a little momentum heading into its Cable Car Classic matchup with Santa Clara on Tuesday. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.


10:51 a.m. - The game has come down to free throws. SMU is trying to foul its way back into the game. With 14 seconds left, NU leads 71-60.


10:39 a.m. - Adako has come up big in the later stages of this game. He hit another big jumper to put the Huskies up nine. Then after an SMU miss, Janning missed a layup, but Adako was there for the tip-in. Adako now has 10 points in the game, and Northeastern leads 67-54.


10:36 a.m. - At the final media timeout, the Huskies lead 63-54, but SMU is staging a rally. Rodney Clinkscales sank a huge three-pointer to get SMU's deficit to seven, 61-54. Manny Adako came up big with a 16-foot jumper to answer the call.


10:25 a.m. - The Huskies have hit a bit of a lull as we reach the under-8 media timeout at 7:47. They lead SMU 59-47, but the Mustangs are on a 6-0 run and NU hasn't scored since 11:38. The Huskies have turned the ball over three times in that span as SMU has gone to a full court press. Derek Williams has made SMU's last two baskets and leads the Mustangs with 16 points.


10:16 a.m. - After SMU tried to inbounds, Matt Janning knocked the ball out of bounds, triggering the under-12 media timeout. Three players are in double figures, and Janning has 12 points and six assists. Janning's career high for assists is seven.


10:14 a.m. - The under-16 media timeout finally came at 11:26. The Huskies lead 59-41 as they continue to dial up the offense. The Huskies are currently shooting 62.5 percent from the floor.


10:12 a.m. - The second half is flying as there was no stoppage of play for nearly five minutes. Matt Doherty finally had to call a timeout as the Huskies went on a big run to take a 57-41 lead.


9:47 a.m. - Halftime at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Huskies have answered the call this morning, putting up their best offensive first half of the season. They lead 40-27 after shooting 55.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown. Matt Janning, Nkem Ojougboh, Chaisson Allen and Mathiang Muo all have eight points to lead Northeastern. SMU has turned the ball over 10 times and that has led to  14 Huskies points.


9:36 a.m. - Matt Janning has four assists already. Defenses are keying in on him and leaving other men open. He again dribbled towards the basket, drawing a double team, but he kicked out to Mathiang Muo, who nailed the wide-open triple. Janning, Allen and Ojougboh all have eight points. The Huskies lead 35-25 with 3:12 remaining.


9:33 a.m. - Matt Doherty had to call a timeout after the Huskies picked up some momentum on Mustang turnovers. On the last play, Janning dribbled in and dished to a wide-open Bataille, who drained an easy 12-footer. NU leads 32-23.


9:26 a.m. - NU leads SMU 24-21 with 7:17 left in the first half. The Huskies put together a nice run with Bataille creating a turnover that led to a Joel Smith dunk. Allen followed with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer with a hand in his face. Bataille then made both free throws after getting fouled in the lane. The Huskies are in the bonus as SMU has racked up seven fouls already.


9:18 a.m. - The Huskies lead 15-13 after a nice dribble penetration Baptiste Bataille in the lane. He fed a wide open Mathiang Muo for an easy inside layup.


9:09 a.m. - It's a fast-paced start as the Huskies lead 11-9 at the first media timeout. Tied at 4-4, Chaisson Allen drained a three-pointer to get the team excited. He had another triple attempt that he missed, but Manny Adako grabbed the offensive rebound and Nkem Ojougboh followed with a layup. Then Matt Janning made a nifty spin move around a defender and fed Ojougboh who made an easy dunk. NU went up 11-5 before a pair of SMU baskets made it 11-9.


9:02 a.m. - The Huskies won the tip in what is their earliest game ever. Chaisson Allen scored inside to put NU up 2-0.


8:53 a.m. - Starting lineups below. Northeastern is wearing its road blacks. SMU is in its home whites.

NU
Chaisson Allen
Alwayne Bigby
Matt Janning
Manny Adako
Nkem Ojougboh

SMU
Mouhammad Faye
Justin Haynes
Derek Williams
Paul McCoy
Papa Dia

8:39 a.m. - In his interview with WRBB Radio's Willie Klaynman, Bill Coen said that it's important for his team to start a winning streak before conference play. Coen's style is to play a difficult non-conference schedule to prepare his athletes for the rigors of the Colonial Athletic Association. Well, his team has been challenged this season. Conference play begins in eight days, and the Huskies will play four conference games in a week.


8:14 a.m. - The Huskies are warming up side-by-side with SMU, whose coach is Matt Doherty. The same Matt Doherty that coached Notre Dame and North Carolina. Although the Mustangs are of the same realm as those other two teams, Doherty has this program on the rise. His two star players are Derek Williams and Mouhammad Faye, the latter a transfer from Georgia Tech.

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