GAME NOTES: The Northeastern Huskies and Navy Midshipmen will close out the opening day of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday evening.

Northeastern is 2-0 on the season after victories over Boston University (71-65) and most recently Florida State (76-73). The contest against Navy is the first of two consecutive games in the Tip-Off Classic for the Huskies.

It's been a very slow start to the season for Navy, which has played three very difficult non-conference opponents out of the gate. The Midshipmen dropped games to Michigan State, Notre Dame and then Providence Thursday night, 88-51.

In four all-time series contests between Northeastern and Navy, the Midshipmen hold a 3-1 advantage over the Huskies, with the last battle between the sides occurring during the 2001 season.

Northeastern was only ahead of Florida State by two points when the teams broke for intermission, as both sides shot over 55 percent from the floor in the first frame. The Huskies ended the day shooting 53.8 percent from the field, which included a 60 percent clip from 3-point distance. David Walker led all Northeastern scorers in the contest, netting 22 points, and connecting on all four of his tries from distance. Quincy Ford chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Scott Eatherton amassed 16 points in the win. The Huskies got 34 of their points in the paint in a game where the lead changed four times and the score was tied three.

Walker is the man leading the scoring charge for Northeastern through the first two contests, averaging 22.5 ppg on 63.6 percent shooting. Ford checks in behind Walker with 14.5 ppg, and Eatherton, last season's leading scorer, is currently third with 12.0 ppg. Eatherton owns a team-best 7.0 rpg margin through two games for a team that is bringing down 32.5 rpg as a unit. Northeastern is scoring 73.5 ppg and is allowing opponents to score just 69.0 ppg.

Navy was as cold as it gets in the first half of Thursday night's game against Providence, in which the Friars ended up winning by more than 30 points. The Midshipmen shot 26.1 percent from the floor in the first frame, connecting on just six shots in the entire 20 minutes. They trailed by 20 points at the half alone. Only one Navy player netted a double-digit scoring total in the contest - James Hemphill registered 10 points in just 16 minutes of play. Edward Alade connected for nine points and pulled down a team-best five rebounds. As a unit, Navy shot 38.8 percent from the field in the loss, and grabbed just 24 rebounds with a hefty 17 turnovers.

Typically toward the beginning of a basketball season, a team's stats are relatively high because the sample size is so small. That's not the case for Navy, which is shooting just 37.3 percent from the field as a team, including a 27.8 percent mark from 3-point range. Alade leads the team this season with a 10.3 ppg scoring average, and is the lone Midshipmen player to average a double-digit scoring total. Alade's 4.0 rpg mark is also the best on the Navy squad entering the clash with Northeastern. The Midshipmen are scoring 54.3 ppg, compared to a whopping 81.3 ppg allowed to opponents.

Northeastern isn't in the same category as a Michigan State or a Notre Dame, but the Huskies still pack their own punch with a seasoned group of players on the roster. Navy might not let up close to 90 points to the Huskies, but Northeastern still should be able to get the job done against the struggling Midshipmen.