AKRON, OH – You could run through a laundry list of things that’ve gone poorly for Northeastern men’s basketball over the past week.
Last Saturday, the team announced star guard LA Pratt had suffered a season-ending broken foot before falling apart in their final game at Matthews Arena. The following Thursday, the Huskies looked hapless in an ugly, uninspiring loss at Princeton. Two days later, midway through the first half of this game, star forward Youri Fritz exited with an undisclosed injury that kept him out for the entire second half.
Oh, and Northeastern’s opponent? None other than 4-1 Duquesne, who entered having won all five games they’d ever contested at LeBron James Arena at James’ (and Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III’s) alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. That was a trend that appeared likely to continue, with the Dukes well-favored over a Northeastern team missing its best player and reeling off of a two-game losing streak.
But, when all was said and done, it was the Huskies who emerged victorious, riding a stunning breakout 32-point performance from freshman guard Xavier Abreu as they knocked off Duquesne, 93-86.
Two weeks ago, it looked relatively unlikely that Abreu would even see regular playing time this season, stuck behind a talented, veteran guard group. But, once Pratt went down, head coach Bill Coen turned to his bench for answers, and found a revelation in the form of the freshman guard from Lynn, MA.
“We’ve been looking for his spot… he came up huge for us at Colgate,” said Coen of Abreu. “He’s been a tremendous scorer his whole life. That’s what he does, he scores at all four levels… he’s a potent weapon. When he gets going, he’s fun to watch.”
After Northeastern’s starters seemed to surprise Duquesne by jumping out to a 9-5 start, Abreu checked in, and the rookie got to work right away. He scored his first points on his first opportunity, banking home a nice driving layup to take a two-point cushion. A few moments later, after junior guard Mike Loughnane’s jumper made it 14-11, Abreu lit up the scoreboard again, miraculously tapping home a rebound over several Duquesne big men.
It wasn’t all Abreu, though. Northeastern took a 21-12 lead by virtue of a personal five-point spurt by senior forward Youri Fritz with 8:17 to play in the half, and contributions from freshman forward Xander Alarie and junior guard William Kermoury kept the lead in Husky possession, at least for a bit. Duquesne would take their first advantage of the afternoon at 36-33 on two threes by senior guard Cameron Crawford at the 1:57 mark, and with a pro-Dukes crowd beginning to make noise inside a bandbox high school gym, it began to feel as though Northeastern’s luck was running out.
Instead, they responded. Abreu — who else, really — splashed home an and-one three from the left corner. Kermoury hit a tough fadeaway on Northeastern’s following possession, and after Loughnane banked home a layup, it was an 8-0 run to wrest control back from the Dukes. Duquesne’s senior center John Hugley IV would end the half with a transition dunk, but it’d be the Huskies holding a precious 41-38 margin heading into the break.
The first few minutes of the second half likely won’t make either team’s season-long highlight reel. Those minutes featured five turnovers and two missed layups, with junior guard Jimmie Williams the only one to score as Duquesne cut the lead to 41-40.
Abreu wouldn’t be the only unlikely star on Saturday night, though. Senior forward Haris Elezovic — who began the night having played just seven minutes all season — saw the floor in the first half, and started the second half for the hobbled Fritz. He’d nail a three as part of a 13-point frame, opening Northeastern’s second half account and giving them a four-point lead.
Northeastern bent, but they just didn’t break. Duquesne began throwing punch after punch, but the Huskies had a response every single time. On one occasion, it was eight straight points by Abreu; on another, it was junior guard JB Frankel hitting a bailout three, or Elezovic slotting home back-to-back layups.
Abreu would actually go on a separate heater later in the half, scoring seven straight Husky points to push the lead to 68-63 with 8:32 to play. Minutes later, it was Alarie who came up big, swatting a potential game-tying layup before finding Elezovic with a nice dish on the other end. A one-for-two free throw trip by the Miami transfer would extend the lead to five.
With Duquesne’s ten team fouls putting Northeastern in the double-bonus, they looked to take advantage, attacking the rim with vigor. Abreu knocked down two pairs of free throws, and Kermoury did the same, allowing the Huskies to keep a narrow, 85-82 lead with 2:14 remaining.
At the 2:01 mark, Elezovic fouled out, pressing little-used freshman center Petar Pinter into action. Elezovic’s foul allowed junior guard Tarence Guinyard to go to the line, where he converted a pair of free throws, before Abreu and junior forward Jakub Nečas traded layups.
With 41 seconds to play, and the score at 87-86, Kermoury missed a layup, but Pinter stuck his long arms up, grabbing the rebound. As Dukes swarmed around him, Pinter found Frankel, who found the relocating Kermoury in the left-hand corner, all alone.
Swish.
A Pinter foul sent Hugley IV to the line, where the big man missed both. Kermoury’s one-of-two trip to the line extended the lead to five, and after a Hugley IV rebound, his outlet pass found Williams streaking downcourt for the Dukes.
The video probably won’t end up in the Hall of Fame like a certain Akron native’s famous block, but as if shot out of a cannon, Xavier Abreu appeared, with the smallest player on the floor leaping to stuff Williams’ shot right back at him. The ball skittered to Loughnane, who was fouled, made both free throws, and once Guinyard’s last-ditch layup rolled off, the clock had run out on Duquesne.
As the buzzer sounded, Northeastern mobbed Abreu as much in disbelief as in celebration. His final line? 32 points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block — all on a mouthwatering 11-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Elezovic had quite the game, too: his 17 points and 10 rebounds came on a neat 8-of-12. Abreu, Elezovic, and Kermoury were the only Huskies in double figures, a remarkable feat for a team that nearly scored 100 points.
“[Elezovic] has been banged up with a little bit of an injury,” Coen said. “We felt like this was a spot for him, being an older guy… he showed today how he can help the team. He was terrific battling down low, made a big three, made some nice finishes around the rim and some good passes, and gave us that toughness we needed to get over the edge.”
That’s not to say that the entire roster wasn’t responsible for this one, though. Every Husky who saw the floor (bar Pinter) had at least four points, and the team as a whole played hard-nosed, team defense across 40 minutes against a skilled, athletic Duquesne team. It showed in the stat sheet, too: all but two Huskies logged at least one steal, and one of the two without (Alarie) notched a career-high five blocks.
Offensively, it was an uncharacteristic night for the Dukes. All five starters scored in double figures, but their bench, which had been so solid, combined for just seven points. Guinyard and Hugley, the team’s two best players, combined for 11 turnovers, much to the chagrin of head coach Dru Joyce III.
On the other side of the ball, it was a continuation of season-long defensive woes. Duquesne entered as one of the most foul-prone teams in college basketball, and continued that trend, committing a whopping 24 fouls that sent Northeastern to the line 30 times.
The story, though, lies with Northeastern. For a team missing their best player (and their second best, for three-quarters of this game) to walk into a hostile environment, go blow for blow with a deeper, more athletic team, and leave with one of the more impressive wins in recent memory? Pretty good.
“Really excited for our guys, proud of our guys,” an elated Coen said postgame. “We’ve had some adversity. Losing LA Pratt, Youri goes down in the first half… they had great resolve today, great team effort, and obviously sparked by an incredible freshman performance.
“We’ve had a little bit of a hangover from losing LA. I thought it’d take us a couple of games to figure that out, but [Abreu] stepped up in a huge way, and [Elezovic] helped us in the frontcourt… just really proud of those guys, bouncing back after two rough games.”
The only damper on a bright day for the Huskies was the loss of Fritz, who briefly went to the locker room in the first half with what appeared to be a lower body injury before returning to the court. He went off for treatment again at halftime, though, and although he was dressed and on the bench, didn’t play in the second half, finishing with seven points in nine minutes.
“He wanted to give it a go in the second half, tried it, had some pain… we didn’t want to risk it. He’s so valuable to what we do, and we’ll make sure we get him the rest and the treatment that he needs.”
Rest, treatment, and food. It is nearly Thanksgiving, after all. And I’d be willing to bet that food’ll taste a whole lot better after a resounding, inspiring win.
Northeastern will return to action on Friday at Wake Forest. WRBB will have written coverage.