Beating Syracuse on their home floor was always going to be a tall task for these Northeastern Huskies.
The Orange’s home loss to Northeastern’s CAA foe Hofstra a week before showed that it was possible, however. And, to their credit, the Huskies looked the part for the vast majority of the game, pushing Syracuse to their limit in front of a vibrant crowd of over 13,000.
Ultimately, though, it was a familiar bite that sunk venom into the visitors’ hopes. Northeastern, as they have all season, simply put the Orange on the free throw line too many times. Syracuse, who entered as the worst free-throw shooting team in the country, stepped up to the task, sinking 34 of a staggering 48 attempts from the stripe to hold off the Huskies.
Northeastern came into the game with a bevy of roster questions, including the health of star forward Youri Fritz. Fritz played, and so did fellow injury doubt Miles Newton, but graduate forward Haris Elezovic missed his third consecutive game.
Newton didn’t appear to be at full health, though, as evidenced by an ankle brace and his absence from the starting lineup. In Newton’s starting role, the Huskies turned to sophomore guard Ryan Williams, who’d struggled wildly in limited opportunities this season. Entering Saturday’s contest, Williams was just 3-14 from the floor, averaging 1.1 points per game across seven contests.
Williams surpassed that mark just two minutes in, sticking home a fastbreak layup to claim Northeastern’s first points of the game. He’d get another layup moments later, and when a Xavier Abreu dunk gave Northeastern a 14-9 lead, Syracuse head coach Red Autry was forced into an early timeout.
The Orangemen responded, engineering a 16-2 run spurred on by six points from freshman guard Kiyan Anthony. Anthony, the son of Syracuse and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, was Syracuse’s qualified leading scorer entering the day, despite coming off the bench in the vast majority of his appearances.
Throughout the remainder of the first half, the Orange repeatedly threatened to blow the game open, only to be stymied by timely buckets by the visitors. More often than not, it was Fritz authoring the response for the Huskies, but junior guard Mike Loughnane got in on the action as well, tallying six points just before halftime, including a buzzer-beating midrange to give Northeastern a bit of momentum heading into halftime even while trailing 41-31.
The second half began with Syracuse on the front foot. A quick burst extended their lead to 15, and it’d stay between 10 and 15 for the next several minutes. With the score at 65-50 and several key Huskies in foul trouble, the game seemed to be teetering on the edge of blowing wide open. Instead, Northeastern fought back in the unlikeliest of ways: freshman forward Ty Francis hit his first career three before Williams connected on his second triple of the year just seconds later. Star Syracuse center William Kyle III threw down a powerful alley-oop, but a Williams and-1 on the ensuing possession brought the necessary response.
The Orange opened it back up, though, getting the lead as high as 14 with six minutes to go. A valiant Northeastern fight allowed them back in the mix, getting as close as five with two minutes remaining, but Syracuse maintained composure, knocking down free throw after free throw to salt it away.
This one was never truly in doubt, even as the Huskies pulled within single digits late in the second half. It might’ve been less comfortable than Syracuse would’ve liked, and the Huskies certainly showed resolve, but the visitors never felt like they truly threatened to take a late lead. The final read 91-83, reflective of a competitive matchup that was always slanted in one direction.
On the bright side, Williams got back in the swing of things for a Huskies team desperately searching for depth. Head coach Bill Coen showed confidence in the sophomore via a starting role, and he repaid it and some with a team-high 20 points before fouling out in the second half.
“We had a long [break] between finals, and we had about two weeks to practice… [Williams] was the best guy in practice,” Coen said postgame. “I want guys to understand that practice counts. If you come in every day and attack practice, there’s a reward for that. You get playing time.”
Despite prominence on the scoring front, Northeastern’s defense was too leaky. Syracuse shot an eye-popping 48 free throws, and while some of that was due to the Orange’s superior physicality, the Huskies also did their fair share of getting themselves in trouble. Three different Huskies fouled out, and the Orange were in the bonus before the midway point of each half.
“Certainly our technique has to get better,” Coen said. “We’re leaving our feet or we’re putting hands on drivers instead of chests. We have to get better at that.”
For Syracuse, guard Naithan George led the way, notching 22 points along with six rebounds and six assists. Anthony had 18, Kyle had 14, and guard Nate Kingz had 14.
Northeastern’s bench had just 18 points to Syracuse’s 32, an issue that’s plagued the Huskies since the season-ending injury to LA Pratt. Every Northeastern player who dressed saw minutes outside of freshman center Petar Pinter.
Northeastern returns to action on Monday, when they take on Rhode Island. Jacob Phillips will have your call, with tip set for 7pm on 104.9 FM.