Even if he can’t hit the high notes as well as the famed R&B singer who shares his name, Mississippi Valley State forward Davon Usher sure can score.
Still, despite the junior transfer’s scrappy defense and season-high 35 points, Northwestern escaped Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 81-68 victory Thursday night.
After a blowout victory earlier in the week, Northwestern had its hands full with MSVU. Though the ‘Cats trailed for only 30 seconds in the game, the Delta Devils, led by Usher, remained within striking distance until Northwestern finally blew the game open with six minutes left.
Still, the Wildcats should consider themselves lucky to walk off the court with a victory. The failure to contain Usher was hardly the only problem that Northwestern faced during the game. Ultimately, only a few aspects of this surprisingly close contest swung the score in favor of the ‘Cats.
What went wrong:
Three point shooting:
For Northwestern, the long ball came in bursts. After starting 4-of-5 from 3-point range, the ‘Cats made only one of their next six shots from beyond the arc. Northwestern settled far too often from long range, failing to work the ball into freshman center Alex Olah in the post. Still, despite Northwestern’s struggles, it was MSVU’s own shooting that kept the game open until the very end. The Delta Devils shot 61.5% from three-point range, with seven of the team’s eight threes belonging to Usher.
The Delta Devils’ success from downtown seemed to end all of the Northwestern scoring runs before they even had a chance to get started. Still, senior guard Reggie Hearn seemed to believe the shots would eventually stop falling.
“Eventually they’re gonna run out of gas,” Hearn said. “I got faith in our guys.”
Davon Usher:
This Polk State College (Fla.) transfer had Mississippi Valley State fans saying “Yeah!” all night. After shooting 70 percent for 19 points in the first half, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, Usher tacked on 16 more in the second to lead all scorers. Although he was held scoreless in the final six minutes, Northwestern’s defense struggled to contain the 6’5’’ junior, allowing him to record his highest scoring total of the season while shooting 66% on the game.
Hearn blamed himself for Usher’s big night.
“It took me 30 minutes to figure out I needed to face guard that kid,” Hearn said. “If he went to the bathroom, I needed to go with him.”
Drew Crawford’s foul trouble:
If there is an excuse one can make for Northwestern’s lackluster performance against MVSU Thursday night, it’s that the ‘Cats lost forward Drew Crawford, their top scorer and senior leader, for the majority of the game to foul trouble. Crawford picked up two early fouls in the first half and then did the same in the second. Without Crawford’s scoring threat, the offense often seemed to lack direction.
“He’s a good player, Drew, so you want him out there,” head coach Bill Carmody said.
What went right:
Turnovers:
Despite a sloppy game, Northwestern applied enough pressure to force MVSU turnovers at opportune times. For all the shots the Delta Devils made, the team’s 16 turnovers limited scoring chances. Only down five points in the second half, MVSU proceeded to turn the ball over twice in two minutes as the Northwestern lead ballooned to 11. After averaging 19 turnovers a game in their first two losses, the Delta Devils struggled once again Thursday.
Offensive rebounds:
Although Mississippi Valley State forced the Wildcats to take heavily contested, difficult shots, the team allowed too many second chance opportunities to win this basketball game. Northwestern snared seven offensive boards in the first half and 14 total in the game, as the ‘Cats capitalized on their second chances and put the ball in the bucket. More importantly though, the rebounds allowed Northwestern to hold onto the ball, limiting MVSU’s possessions and keeping the ball out of Usher’s hands. This was one of few areas of the game with which head coach Bill Carmody seemed pleased.
“We’re very capable,” Carmody said. “In the second half we were going after it pretty good.”
Reggie, Sobo, and Swop:
In Tuesday’s season opener, it was all Drew Crawford. But against MVSU, his teammates did not disappoint. Hearn showed the senior leadership the team needed in the final ten minutes, scoring 23 while also dishing out six assists. For sophomore point guard Dave Sobolewski, who missed his first five shots, the points finally came when they were most needed. In a four-minute stretch in the second half, Sobolewski made one big scoring play after another, adding 12 crucial points to Northwestern’s scoring total. Still, without the offensive threat provided by forward transfer Jared Swopshire, the ‘Cats would have likely ended up on the wrong end of this game. Swopshire poured in 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and he hit 5-of-6 3-point shots to keep Northwestern’s lead safe.