By Andrew Parente, News Staff

Playing in their first postseason game since 2005, the men’s basketball team made the most of its trip to Wyoming, coming up with a 64-62 win over the Wyoming Cowboys in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament.
This was the first time the Huskies have ever played the Cowboys and, with the win, they improve to 19-12 on the year and will move on to the next round of the tournament. Wyoming falls to 19-14.
It was also the first win in the postseason for NU since 1984.
Northeastern was led by its guards, junior Matt Janning and sophomore Chaisson Allen, who combined for 36 points.
‘ ‘Matt and Chase have been our co-MVPs all season long,’ said head coach Bill Coen. ‘They have had some great moments throughout the year and both played well against Wyoming.’
The Huskies came out strong from the start and opened the contest on a 12-3 run.
Senior forward Eugene Spates hit a pair of threes during the run, while Janning contributed four points. Junior center Nkem Ojougboh converted on a layup as well to aid the scoring.
Northeastern’s defense was strong in the early going as they did not allow a field goal until Cowboy guard A.J. Davis hit a jumper at the 12:42 mark.
Wyoming was able to chip away at the lead and got within six, 14-8, before the Huskies countered with a 7-0 run.
Ojougboh got it started with a pair of free throws; Janning then followed with a steal and a fastbreak layup. Spates then buried another three-pointer off a pass from Ojougboh giving the Huskies a 21-8 lead with 8:46 to go in the half.
However, the Huskies found themselves in foul trouble toward the end of the half and the Cowboys were able to go on a 12-0 run to bring the lead down to just one, 27-26.
Senior forward Matt Smith hit a three to end NU’s scoring slump and Janning beat the buzzer with a turnaround jumper to give the Huskies a 32-28 halftime lead.
Janning came out firing to start the second half, scoring the first five points for the Huskies.
Northeastern led 45-40 before Wyoming came back and took their first lead of the game.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Allen came up with a big three to put the Huskies back on top, 50-48, with 9:19 to go.
The Cowboys tied the game at 50 before Allen buried back-to-back threes to give the Huskies the lead for good.
Wyoming would threaten again during the games final minute, but the lead was to big to overcome.
For the game, Janning led the Huskies with 20 points and Allen had 16, including three big three-pointers. He also dished out six assists. Ojougboh and Spates were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Northeastern shot 42 percent from the floor.
The Huskies played with a short bench and were missing key forward Manny Adako. However, the team was able to overcome the loss of the junior and found a way to win.
‘That’s just the beauty of the team sport,’ Coen said. ‘Manny has carried us on several occasions and tonight it was his teammate’s time to pick him up.’
The Huskies defense put up a good effort as they held Wyoming to 40 percent shooting from the floor and forced 15 turnovers.
Guard Brandon Ewing led the way for the Cowboys with a game-high 22 points.
Northeastern will next play at UTEP Monday in the quarterfinals of the CBI at 10 p.m.