Seawolves Roar Back from Second Half Deficit, Tame Northeastern Huskies 76-69

If I had to watch a generally meaningless out of conference game right after a crushing conference loss, I want to see my boys with their nails out, hunting for blood.

Not quite what happened in Boston today... but instead I got a solidly contested game between a mid-pack CAA team and an upper tier AEC team - in other words, an even matchup.

In the opening minutes the game was back and forth. SBU dominated the paint on rebounds, earning a few 2nd and 3rd chance buckets. Tommy Brenton and Dallis Joyner wrought havoc under the basket, making it very uncomfortable for Northeastern to run any plays inside. To compensate, Northeastern resorted to 3-point shooting. Junior Joel Smith displayed impressive composure against an SBU defense that wasn't giving him much slack, sinking 3 3pt shots early in the first. He would go on to score 20 pts on 6-10 3pt shooting through the game. Northeastern successfully identified the open man on the perimeter on several occasions, allowing completely open 3-pt shooting from the suddenly hot Huskies offense.

More about Northeastern and a preview of SBU's final 2 conference games after the break!

And by the middle of the 1st half the Seawolves found themselves in a position that's becoming all too familiar against better teams - the victims of a something-0 run that puts them in a near double digit deficit near the end of the 1st half. Now if I was Steve Pikiell - which thankfully I'm not - I would give a timeout pep talk somewhat similar to Will Ferrell's from Old School: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgRp-CZ1UDc

But thankfully I'm just a grad student, and Pikiell's a real coach who knows what he's doing. On two occasions SBU was down by 9-12 points: once during the 1st half, and again with about 7 minutes to play in the 2nd. On both occasions the Seawolves stayed composed, played stingy defense, poached lazy Northeastern passes, and tied the game. The clear highlight of the 1st half rally was a Dave Coley steal/jumper with ~3 seconds left at the end of the 1st to tie the game at the buzzer. In the 2nd Brenton wrought havoc in every way possible, willing the team back into the lead.

That's not to say that this win wasn't a team effort. Yet again SBU showed off why it wins - there is no superstar on this team. Dallis Joyner chipped in a double/double, going 10 pts/10 rebs and playing some impressive defense under the basket in the late 2nd half. Lenny Hayes seems to be "getting it" again, dropping 3-5 3pt attempts for 9 points. One came at a crucial time during Northeastern's 2nd half lead, chopping it down from double digits right when it seemed like the Seawolves were breaking. Anthony Jackson and Marcus Rouse continue to be solid playmakers off the bench. But perhaps to me the most exciting thing to see was Eric McAlister making a strong move to the basket. The 6'11" RS-Soph barreled over three Northeastern driving to the basket, only to have his shot taken away by a very questionable offensive foul directly under the basket (well inside the white line).

In all, I'm excited that we rallied. I'm excited that we did it against a not-really-that-terrible program that has wins against BU and UVM. And I'm excited to see our final 2 conference games before packing it up for the big weekend in Hartford.

Upcoming games:

Seawolves @ Hartford - 2/21/12

Hartford has been a strange team this season. Stumbling into conference season with 0 OOC wins, Hartford (Pomeroy Ranking - 310) hasn't been horrible by AEC standards (...low), sweeping Binghamton, UMBC, and Maine and taking 1/2 from New Hampshire. They just recorded their 1st OOC win over St. Peters, which isn't a complete bottomfeeder in the MAAC.

Hartford seems to be a tale of maturing youth. Their team plays motivated and fights until the final buzzer. They don't accept losses - but mere play through them. This is a team that will almost undoubtedly play better next season, and settle back into their traditional role as a middle of the pack program. As for this season, look for SBU to allow a few key Hartford runs as they are prone to do on the road, but eventually come back to win by 10+

Maine @ Stony Brook - 2/26/12 (CBS College Sports)

A solid regional/national telecast for Stony Brook on its final regular season game.

Maine has been REELING in a huge way over its last few games. Rumors of infighting and disputes amongst players seems to have compromised Coach Ted Woodward's otherwise high potential season. Maine has lost 4 straight and is currently trailing by double digits to MAAC bottom-feeder Marist as I type this.

Maine (Pomeroy Ranking - 281) has very high faith in Freshmon phenom Justin Edwards and Sophomore playmaker Alasdair Fraser. It's questionable why the Black Bears have failed to come together properly, although chemistry late in the season does have a VERY significant impact on on-court performance. Since the beginning of conference play Maine has lost every game except for both with Binghamton and UMBC, and away against New Hampshire.

This is not a game for SBU to take lightly - high talent/low performance teams have been their Achilles Heel this season - but I expect the Seawolves to take this one by double digits in what may be potentially their final performance at Pritchard Gym this season (barring a UVM loss between now and the AEC Championship game)