Northeastern Beats UConn 64-61 In Matchup Of Huskies

Northeastern hadn’t defeated UConn since the year before Jim Calhoun left the Boston-based Huskies to coach the ones in Connecticut.

Northeastern Beats UConn 64-61 In Matchup Of Huskies

On Monday night, however, T.J. Williams scored 20 points and Northeastern basketball won 64-61, dropping UConn to 0-2 for the first time in 48 years.

“It’s pretty big for the school and it’s pretty big for our team this year,” Williams said. “It’s really huge. It really hasn’t sunk in yet, but it feels great; it feels wonderful.”

Donnell Gresham Jr. added 13 points for Northeastern (2-0) and Alex Murphy had nine points and 15 rebounds.

Terry Larrier scored 17 points and Jalen Adams had 15 for UConn.

The UConn Huskies had an opportunity to tie the game at the end when freshman Alterique Gilbert stole a cross-court pass from Murphy as Northeastern was attempting to run out the clock. However, his 3-pointer hit the rim just before the buzzer.

“I made one of the dumbest plays of my basketball career,” said Murphy, a graduate transfer who played at both Duke and Florida. “It got picked off but Donnell (Gresham) was there to defend the shot, so thank God for him.”

Just like in the defeat to Wagner in the opener on Friday night, UConn entered the game with little self-confidence on offense and found itself 11 points behind in the opening minutes, and Northeastern went on to lead 35-31 at halftime.

UConn went on a 9-1 run to start the second half with a four-point lead, but Northeastern responded with a 10-2 run of its own.

Northeastern beat UConn on the boards, 47-38, and made open 3s, 9 of 28 attempts, when they were given.

A fast-break dunk from Murphy gave Northeastern its biggest lead of the second half at 61-54 with just under 4 minutes remaining.

“This is a dark time,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “I know that. I understand the expectations of everybody here, in this room and at UConn. I feel embarrassed right now. But when I feel embarrassed, I know I’m going to get through it and this team is going to get through it.”

UConn began the season ranked 18th in the nation and fell out of the rankings on Monday after their loss to Wagner, the team’s first season-opening loss in 17 years.

Northeastern last defeated UConn in 1985, a 90-73 victory for Calhoun’s team. The Hall-of-Fame coach won 248 games at Northeastern before guiding UConn to 625 wins and three national titles.

UConn freshman guard Christian Vital, who scored five points in the Huskies’ opener, was forced to sit out Monday night’s game due to back issues.

UConn plays its first road game against Loyola Marymount in Ollie’s hometown of Los Angeles before traveling to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, where they will face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the opening round on Nov. 21.

Northeastern will next visit the Boston University Terriers on Friday after defeating them 87-77 last Friday.

PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 19: T.J. Williams #10 of the Northeastern Huskies plays against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Consol Energy Center on March 19, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena