BOSTON — This four-game homestand was supposed to revitalize the Northeastern Huskies (13-12, 5-7).
Instead, a team that’d mostly disappointed throughout the first half of conference play did so once again, dropping the first game of said homestand in an 84-75 defeat to a lowly Hampton Pirates (12-13, 4-9) squad that they dominated just nine days earlier.
This wasn’t a particularly competitive loss, either. After the Huskies beat Hampton in wire-to-wire fashion on the road in their prior meeting, the Pirates returned the favor on Saturday, jumping out to an early lead and never relinquishing it en route to a wire-to-wire victory of their own.
Northeastern came out of the gates flat, seemingly expecting Hampton to roll over without a fight. Poor defense allowed the Pirates to score on each of their first seven possessions as they jumped out to a 15-4 lead.
After failing to score in the last meeting between these two sides, Hampton’s Noah Farrakhan scored 11 of the Pirates’ first 25 points, including multiple tough off-the-dribble jumpshots. It was a masterclass in shot-making from the entire team, though, repeatedly knocking down contested mid-range jumpers which the Huskies simply couldn’t do anything to stop..
Northeastern played their way into the game, though, not letting the lead grow larger than 15 and methodically cutting into it as the period waned. A 10-2 run bookended by three-pointers from William Kermoury and Harold Woods drew the Huskies within three, but they couldn’t pull closer after LA Pratt smoked an open layup and Hampton’s Kyrese Mullen tipped in an offensive rebound to give us a 40-35 halftime score.
Despite the lackluster final stretch, it felt like Northeastern entered the second half with momentum squarely on their side. That feeling didn’t last long, though — the Pirates opened the second period with a 9-2 run, quieting the crowd and taking a commanding 11-point lead.
The next dozen minutes felt like watching the back half of a boxing match between two exhausted fighters. Both sides exchanged jabs, but neither side landed a knockout blow; instead, Hampton simply kept the Huskies at bay, refusing to let the lead slip below five.
Northeastern had a chance to get closer right under the seven-minute mark. After 20 seconds of tenacious defense forced a George Beale Jr. miss, the rebound careened around, ricocheting off several players before ultimately finding Hampton’s DJ Johnson out by the three-point arc. The freshman guard fired a pass inside, finding Xzavier Long in a crowd of defenders — the junior forward turned and laid it in, earning a foul from JB Frankel in the process. Long converted the three-point play, and the Pirates took a 69-61 lead with 6:28 to play.
That sequence took the wind out of the Huskies’ sails, as they failed to score for the next 2:27 before a Rashad King layup made it a 73-63 game. It was a long road back from there, though, and Hampton just kept scoring, going up 78-67 after Johnson’s alley-oop jam in transition with 1:53 left.
That’d just about do it.
Northeastern fought to the last gasp, pressing and fouling, but it was a lost cause. A Woods free throw registered as the game’s last official action, as the Pirates closed out an 84-75 win.
The score would’ve been much worse if not for King; the junior guard continued his ascension to stardom with his second career-high performance in as many days, this time notching a startling 32 points on 10-of-15 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the line.
It felt like every time the game started to slip away from the Huskies, King was there. He peppered Hampton from inside the arc, coupling slashing drives to the basket with a number of mid-range jumpers. To boot, King played all 40 minutes, serving as the fearless leader for Bill Coen’s team even in the face of defeat.
“He’s been our best player, our most consistent player, he takes the most professional approach,” Coen said of King. “He leads us in just about every category… he’s just having an outstanding year, and I feel badly we couldn’t get him some support today.”
Woods did his part as well, adding 19 points. Outside of those two, though, it was something of a feckless performance: Pratt shot just 3-of-10 for eight points, a passive JB Frankel scored nine on just 2-of-5, and an even more passive William Kermoury finished with three points on a meager 1-of-2.
Northeastern did limit turnovers, though, finishing with just seven. However, the ball movement stagnated, resulting in just seven assists on 24 made baskets — all in all, it was another weird offensive night for a team that seems to endure identity crises on that side of the floor on a fairly consistent basis.
Hampton, meanwhile, had no such issues offensively. The Pirates had four players in double figures, led by Farrakhan with 28; Johnson and Mullen added 11 apiece, while Beale had 10. The visitors shot 59% from the floor, 39% from three, and made 19-of-24 free throws.
“We did a really good job on [Farrakhan] down [at Hampton],” Coen said. “Today, he got comfortable right from the jump, he got confidence… he made some tough shots, but we gave him too much space.”
In injury news, Masai Troutman and Youri Fritz once again missed for the Huskies, although both players appeared in good spirits on the sidelines. Coen was mum about their status going forward when asked postgame.
This new low in Northeastern’s roller-coaster season could become a ravine; it could also serve as a springboard. The one thing that’s for certain, though, is that the Huskies will need to improve should they even approach their aspirations — and they’ll need to improve fast.
Northeastern will return to action when Campbell graces Matthews Arena on Thursday. Jacob Phillips and Jordan Walsh will be on the call with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. on WRBB 104.9 FM.