Tribe Road Winning Streak Snapped in Defensive Battle at Northeastern

Junior Peter Stein became the first W&M player to pull down double-digit rebounds in two years with a career-high 11 against the Huskies.

02/09/08 5:00PM

Boston, Mass. - The William and Mary men’s basketball team dropped a defensive slugfest, 51-42, at Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. Both squads found it difficult on the offensive end as each team held the other to its season low in scoring. W&M saw its four-game road winning streak, the second-longest in school history, come to a close, while the Huskies won their fourth straight. W&M fell to 13-10 overall and 9-4 in the CAA, while NU improved to 11-12 on the year and 7-6 in league play.

Senior guard Nathan Mann led the Tribe in scoring for the second straight game with 12 points, including a pair of 3-point field goals. Junior forward Peter Stein became the first W&M player to pull down double-digit rebounds in over two years with a career-high 11 against the Huskies. Sophomore Danny Sumner finished with nine points and four rebounds in the loss. The Tribe was forced to play the majority of the second half without its leading scorer Laimis Kisielius due to illness.

After scoring the opening bucket of the game, getting the ball down in post to Kisieluis, the Tribe struggled to find its rhythm. The Huskies went on a 12-0 run over the next 10 minutes to take a double-digit advantage following a trey from Chaisson Allen at the 9:46 mark. Sophomore David Schneider answered right back with a 3-pointer from the left wing, but NU scored five quick points to extend the lead to its largest in the first half at 12. A Matt Janning longball from the right wing at the 8:10 mark pushed the Husky lead to 17-5.

The Tribe went on a run of its own to close the gap to four. W&M went on a 10-2 spurt to draw within single digits. Back-to-back lay-ups from Stein and Mann, closed the gap to 17-9 before the under eight-minute media timeout. After an NU bucket, senior guard Kyle Carrabine stepped up and drilled a trifecta from the left side to close the gap to 19-15 with 2:25 remaining in the opening half.

It was Northeastern that would take the momentum to the locker room. Leading 20-15 with 30 seconds remaining in the opening half, NU held for the last shot and Nkem Ojougboh connected on his third 3-pointer of the year from the right wing. On the ensuing inbounds, Janning sole the ball and drilled a baseline jumper. The five quick points gave NU a 10-point cushion, 25-15, heading to the intermission.

Sumner scored the opening four points of the second half to close the gap to six. His pair of free throws at the 18:31 mark cut the gap to 25-19. Northeastern would answer with a run of its own to extend the cushion back to double digits. With the score 27-21, NU’s Eugene Spates scored seven straight points, including a 3-pointer and a free-throw line jumper. The spark from Spates pushed the Northeastern lead to 34-21 four minutes into the second half.

After the NU advantage ballooned to its largest of the contest at 15, 38-23, W&M once again clawed its way back into the contest with seven straight points. Stein started the run for the Tribe with an offensive putback, before Sumner scored the final five points, putting his offensive abilities on display. The Fairfax, Va., native took the ball to the basket from the left wing for a lay-up, before knocking down a fastbreak trey off the dish from Mann. The 3-pointer cut the deficit to 38-30 and forced an NU timeout with 8:43 remaining in the contest.

Northeastern was able to respond though as a Ojougboh conventional 3-point play at the 5:09 mark, capped an NU run. The 3-point play pushed the Husky led back to 13, 45-32. The Tribe could draw no closer than six points the rest of the way. A three ball from Mann with 55 seconds left in the game closed the gap to 48-42, but W&M could not cut the deficit anymore.

W&M continues its three-game road trip when it travels to battle UNC Wilmington on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off for the contest is slated for 7 p.m. at Trask Coliseum. Fans can catch the action on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast will also be available over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com.

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