Spring Break
Huskies run dooms Dragons
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Sports
|
Nine minutes, 58 seconds and 24 unanswered Northeastern points later, those hopes were shattered.
Matt Janning and Eugene Spates each scored 19 points and the Huskies (9-12, 5-6 CAA) used their second half surge to turn a close game into a blowout as they clobbered the Dragons (9-14, 2-9) 63-40 Feb. 2.
The duo combined for 17 of the Huskies' 24 points during their run which broke the game open.
"All season long we've been going through the same thing," Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said. "As soon as a team hits us, we can never hit back."
Drexel, which has now lost five straight and eight of its last nine, was without leading scorer and rebounder Frank Elegar, who missed the game due to back spasms.
"We'll see what happens with him," Flint responded when asked about his star's future status.
The lack of a strong interior presence took its toll on the Dragons, as their frontcourt combined to score just nine points.
Tramayne Hawthorne and Gerald Colds had 12 points a piece to lead Drexel.
The Dragons enjoyed their 23-20 advantage for just 31 seconds.
Janning, who was held to just four points in the first half, proceeded to hit a three to tie the game at 23 and a jumper by Spates put Northeastern up for good.
"In the second half we freed the game open a little bit with the emergence of Matt Janning and Eugene Spates," Northeastern head coach Bill Coen said.
During the 24-0 run, Drexel was 0-of-8 from the field, and turned the ball over eight times, while Northeastern shot 60 percent (nine-of-15).
The Huskies 3-2 zone defense gave the Dragons fits all night.
"That's what our hope is, that we can keep good shooters like Tramayne Hawthorne and Gerald Colds off balance," Coen said.
Be the first to comment on this story