Beating the CAA preseason favorite in their own gym was always slated to be a tall task. Doing it without three of your better players was certainly going to be even tougher.
College basketball doesn’t “schedule” losses in the same way the NBA does, but Northeastern’s defeat at TU Arena on Thursday night could be described as just that – a loss that the Huskies were destined to suffer. On a night where freshman Luca Soroa made his first collegiate start – borne more out of necessity than merit – the visiting team hung tough, but simply didn’t have enough firepower to outlast the Towson Tigers.
It wasn’t for a lack of effort; in a stark contrast to Saturday’s game against Hofstra, Northeastern played a strong first half. Although they fell behind early, the Huskies used a 16-3 run to take a 22-15 lead with 10:44 to play, and after Towson’s Nendah Tarke spurred a 10-2 response, junior Rashad King sparked a 13-5 spurt to wrest back control at 37-30 heading into halftime.
Thursday’s first half featured Northeastern scoring in transition and from the three-point line, two areas in which they have generally struggled during recent games. King, LA Pratt, and JB Frankel all knocked down triples in the period (King made four), and aggressive defense led to Towson turning the ball over eight times (eleven Husky points came off those turnovers). NU generally contained Tejada as well, limiting the star to just five points (and two turnovers) in the frame.
The lead would last less than five minutes into the second half.
A Tarke transition dunk handed the Tigers their first lead of the half at 46-45, and the teams played seesaw basketball for the next ten minutes – each scoring 20 points – giving way to a 66-65 score with just above five minutes to play.
Northeastern has struggled in late-game scenarios all season, and Thursday was certainly no different. Poor rebounding allowed Towson’s Mekhi Lowery a second-chance dunk, and a Sam Thomson missed layup on the other end gave way to a Tarke deuce. King trimmed the lead with two free throws, but Tarke punched back, nailing a wide-open corner three.
Although the Huskies got it back within two by virtue of a Harold Woods free throw and a Frankel three, they just couldn’t get a rebound, surrendering a one-of-two free throw trip from Tarke on a second chance opportunity before another offensive rebound handed the Tigers’ Caleb Embeya a game-sealing layup moments later. Northeastern pressed, but it didn’t bother the home team, who executed both free throws and inbounds plays to put the finishing touches on an 80-73 win.
Again, this was somewhat expected. For the second straight game, the Huskies were without both junior Masai Troutman and sophomore William Kermoury, the latter of whom hasn’t played in close to a month. And, to make matters worse, graduate student forward Alex Nwagha was also absent. This left Northeastern with little-to-no depth, forcing guys like Thomson and Soroa into roles they don’t normally fill.
However, the healthy Huskies certainly fought; Pratt came alive in the second to record a game-high 22 points, and Frankel set another career-high with 16 off the bench. King ended up with 18 after a loud first half, Woods contributed 11, and Collin Metcalf added four blocks to his CAA All-Defense case.
Towson saw four players reach double figures, led by Tarke and forward Christian May with 17 apiece. Tejada and sophomore guard Dylan Williamson each had 11, while Embeya chipped in with nine. May was the star, though, adding 12 rebounds to go alongside five assists; the Virginia native was there every time the Tigers needed a big play, making his presence felt all over the court.
In the grand scheme of things, Thursday wasn’t shocking, but for a team that’s struggled mightily both with health and late-game execution, the script was again troubling. After a promising start to the season, the Huskies have dropped four of five, and sit below .500 in conference play ahead of a trip to Stony Brook on Saturday.
Towson, meanwhile, will look to continue their rock-solid start to conference play on Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia to face Drexel, with tip set for 2 p.m.
Northeastern will angle to bounce back on Saturday, Jan. 11 when they again hit the road to face Stony Brook. WRBB will have written coverage with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. on FloSports.