NORTHEASTERN EDGES HOFSTRA IN DOUBLE-OVERTIME THRILLER, 74-71
RICHMOND, Va., March 6, 2010 - In the longest tournament
game since 1999, second-seeded Northeastern defeated #7 Hofstra 74-71 in double
overtime in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA
Men's Basketball Championship.
Hofstra's Halil Kanacevik (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a chance
to force a third overtime, but his half-court heave bounced high off the glass
to give the Huskies the victory.
The Huskies were led by senior guard Matt Janning
(Watertown, Minn.), who led all scorers with a season-high 26 points. Five of
Janning's six field goals came from 3-point range, including a trey with 45
seconds in the second overtime left that put Northeastern ahead to stay. Senior
Manny Adako (Decatur, Ga.) added 13 points and junior guard Chaisson Allen
(Murfreesboro, Tenn.) added 10.
Junior Charles Jenkins (Queens, N.Y.), the CAA Player of the
Year, paced the Pride with a team-high 24 points, while Cornelius Vines
(Syracuse, N.Y.) and Greg Washington (Centereach, N.Y.) each chipped in 11.
Northeastern (20-11) advances to tomorrow's second semifinal
at 5:30 p.m. against the winner of tonight's William & Mary and James
Madison game. It will be NU's first semifinal appearance since 2004. Hofstra,
which had its seven-game winning streak come to an end, drops to 19-14 with the
defeat.
Hofstra led 52-48 with two minutes left in regulation before
Janning's reverse layup trimmed the Pride's lead to 52-50 with 1:26 to go.
After a missed 3-pointer by the Pride, Janning found freshman Kauri Black (Rialto,
Calif.) inside for a layup that tied the contest with six seconds left. Jenkins
had a chance to win it, but couldn't connect on a 17-footer runner at the
buzzer.
In the first overtime, Northeastern built a three-point
advantage before Vines lobbed an inbounds pass to Washington for a tip-in with
28 seconds to go. Allen stretched the lead to 60-57 on a pair of free throws
with 18.4 left, but Vines answered four seconds later with a three-pointer from
the right wing, forcing double overtime.
With the game tied at 67 and under a minute left in the
second overtime, Janning hit the biggest three of his senior season with 45.3
left to give NU the lead for good. Hofstra's Nathaniel Lester (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
hit a layup with four seconds left that cut the gap to 74-72, but Allen made a
free throw for the final margin.