A fantastic performance from University of San Diego transfer Vasa Pusica helped Northeastern rout Delaware 74-50 in the CAA Quarterfinals on Sunday evening. Pusica was simply sensational for the Huskies in this one, nearly tallying a triple-double in the victory.
Pusica is the main reason why Northeastern is Charleston’s biggest threat in the Colonial. He leads the Huskies in both points and assists, and he has been extremely efficient this season too. Pusica is shooting over 50 percent from the floor and almost 42 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Against the Blue Hens, Pusica went 6-12 from the field for 15 points and tallied 10 assists and eight rebounds too.
Delaware was able to keep this close for the first half, but Northeastern left no doubt who was the better team in the second half. The Huskies steadily pulled away from the Blue Hens, not allowing them to score for the first five minutes of the second half. Northeastern ended up outscoring Delaware 41-22 in the second half.
You had to feel for Delaware guard Ryan Daly after this one. Daly has been the Blue Hens’ top playmaker all season, but he ended up being the team’s only playmaker against Northeastern.
Daly ended up with 23 of Delaware’s 50 points on the evening, as no one else on the team was able to have much success against Northeastern’s defense. The rest of the team combined to go 9-34 from the floor, and the Blue Hens as a whole went just 1-14 from beyond the three-point line.
Delaware didn’t do itself any favors on the glass in this game. The Blue Hens finished the night with just 24 rebounds, 15 less than what the Huskies ended up with.
Additionally, Northeastern distributed the ball much better. The Huskies had assists on 18 of their 27 field goals, while the Blue Hens had assists on just give of their 18 field goals.
The win puts Northeastern into the CAA Tournament Semifinals, where they will face the winner of No. 6 UNC Wilmington and No. 3 Hofstra. This game will be played on Monday, March 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
This was the fifth straight game that was one by the lower seed.
