Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware suffered a cold shooting night for the second straight outing and Northeastern got 13 points from sophomore guard Matt Janning and double-doubles from three other players as the Blue Hens dropped a 53-49 decision in Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball action Wednesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Blue Hens (9-11, 6-4 CAA), coming off a 54-53 loss at home to Georgia State Saturday in which they shot just 35.2 percent from the field, could not find their shooting touch again Wednesday as they hit on just 19 of 56 shots (33.9 percent) in falling to the Huskies (8-12, 4-6 CAA) for the second time in 11 days and for the seventh straight time overall. Northeastern also won 73-69 in overtime at Boston back on Jan. 19.

The Huskies overcame a tough shooting night of their own as they connected on just 18 of 52 shots (34.6 percent) but held a 14-5 advantage at the foul line, hitting on each of their final eight tries, and a 42-34 edge on the boards.

Janning led the Huskies with 13 points but it was a balanced effort as Chaisson Allen added 11 points and 10 rebounds, Nkem Ojougboh had 10 points, including six straight free throws down the stretch, and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Manny Adako contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Senior forward Herb Courtney (at right) led the Blue Hens with a game-high 16 points, but no other Delaware player managed more than six as Jim Ledsome, Marc Egerson, Alphonso Dawson, Brian Johnson, and Edwin Santiago each scored six points. Ledsome pulled a team-high seven rebounds while Egerson dished out six assists.

“We are really struggling offensively right now,” said Delaware head coach Monté Ross, whose team has followed a four-game winning streak with a stretch of four losses in its last five games. “We are not playing with much confidence and we are putting a lot of pressure on our defense. The frustrating part is that we are taking good shots and they are shots we make in practice.”

Northeastern led the entire first half as Allen scored 11 of his 13 points in the stanza to lead the Huskies to a 31-23 lead at the break. Neither team was sharp offensively as the Hens hit on 9 of 25 shots from the field with Northeastern hitting only 12 of 32 attempts.

After Northeastern increased the lead to 10 on a basket by Adako 23 seconds into the second half, Delaware struck back and used a 15-3 run, including three dunks, to take its first lead at 38-37 with 12:26 left. Courtney followed with a layup and the Hens were up 40-37 with 12:10 remaining.

The Hens still led at 44-42 with 5:50 left, but a three-pointer by backup guard Baptiste Bataille seconds later gave the Huskies the lead for good at 45-44. Neither team scored again until Ojougboh hit two free throws with 2:30 left and two more with 15 second remaining to up the lead to 49-44.

Courtney hit a three-pointer with four seconds left to narrow the gap to 49-47, but Ojougboh connected twice more from the foul line and Janning hit two more with one second left to seal the win.

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