Cardiac Kids Strike Again, Rally Past Northeastern

W&M rallied from its third straight double digit second half deficit in winning its fourth straight CAA game for the first time since 1997-98.

01/16/08 10:30PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s basketball team is turning into the cardiac kids after its third straight double-digit second-half comeback in downing Northeastern, 55-53, before a season-best 3,142 fans at Kaplan Arena on Wednesday night. W&M trailed by 12 at the break, but junior Chris Darnell’s 3-point play with 1:26 remaining gave the Tribe its first and only lead of the game. The Tribe evened its ledger at 8-8 on the season and upped its CAA mark to 4-2, while Northeastern dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in league play.

Darnell led the way for the Tribe scoring 12 points, including 10 during the Tribe’s second-half rally. He finished 5-of-8 from the floor to go along with three rebounds. Sophomore David Schneider and junior Peter Stein both finished in double digits as well with 10 points apiece, while senior guard Nathan Mann led the Tribe with four rebounds and four assists. Following the victory, W&M has won four straight CAA contests for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

After falling behind by 12 in the opening stanza, the Tribe got off to a better start in the second half, hitting eight of its opening 10 shots to close to within a single point at 40-39. Mann and Darnell hit back-to-back 3-pointers capping an eight-point Tribe spurt and forced a NU timeout. After the Huskies scored out of the timeout, Schneider first trifecta of the game close the gap to a point with 14 minutes remaining.

W&M continued to force the issue, but could not get over the hump as NU scored four-straight points following a Eugene Spates dunk to push the lead back to five, 44-39, less than two minutes later. The Tribe stayed strong, however, and Darnell’s bucket at the 7:09 mark tied the game for the first time at 47.

Northeastern answered with six straight points to regain control. Spates knocked down a three from the top of the key, before three Huskies free throws extended the lead to 53-47 with 4:43 remaining. It would be the final time NU would get on the scoreboard. The Tribe controlled possession for the final 4:43 of the contest and limited Northeastern to just two shots and three turnovers.

Following an offensive putback on his own miss shot by Stein, Schneider canned a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to close the gap to one at 53-52. It set up the final scenario that led to the Tribe victory. Spates had his lay-up attempt on the offensive end roll off the rim, and a hustling Schneider gained possession on the floor, near the baseline and called a 30-second W&M timeout before NU forced a held-ball situation or he touched the out-of-bounds line.

On the ensuing Tribe possession, Darnell broke through the Huskies zone and hit a 10-foot leaner in the lane and was fouled on the play by NU’s leading scorer Matt Janning. The Stafford, Va., native converted the 3-point play to give the Tribe a 55-53 lead with 1:26 left.

The Tribe defense stepped up over the remainder of the game with a pair of big defensive spots. NU’s Manny Adako missed a jumper with under a minute remaining, and after a miss on the offensive end, the defense forced Janning to step on the end line with 4.6 seconds remaining. Like it did against Georgia State, the Tribe was able to run out the remaining seconds, Mann got possession of the ball and race down court past a defender, before lobbing the ball into the corner as the clock expired.

After struggling from the field in the opening half, the Tribe finished the second half shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field and only turned the basketball over twice. W&M finished shooting 40.8 percent from the field, while Northeastern shot 48.8 percent. The Huskies though were done in by 18 turnovers.

W&M started the game slowly and found itself in an early 20-9 hole, following a Janning jumper midway through the opening half. W&M clawed its way back into the game, cutting the deficit to four points, 26-22, on an offensive rebound and bucket by senior forward Chris Stratton. It would be the final points of the half for the Tribe though as NU scored the final eight points of the stanza, starting with a Baptiste Bataille 3-pointer from the left side. W&M went the final 4:46 of the opening half without a basket.

The Huskies took a 12-point cushion, 34-22, to the locker room as it ended the half with an alley-oop dunk from Nkem Ojougboh, who led NU with 14 points on the night. Northeastern shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the opening half of play, while limiting W&M to 30.4 percent and forcing nine turnovers.

The Tribe returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when it hosts Towson in the College’s first home TV of the season. The game will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic with announcer Carl Reuter (play-by-play) and Charlie Woollum on the call. The game can also be heard live over the Tribe radio network with Jay Colley and Bill McDonald. The contest will be aired over the Internet as well at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats will also be available at the home of W&M athletics.

Box Score