BOSTON – Even the sting of a ninth consecutive defeat couldn’t wipe the smile from head coach Bill Coen’s face as Saturday’s Senior Day festivities wound to a close.
In what’s become something of a lost season, Saturday offered a rare chance to celebrate. While Northeastern’s graduating class isn’t a particularly large one — forward Youri Fritz and two student managers were the only ones participating in the annual ceremony — Senior Day always offers an opportunity to reflect and pay tribute to those who’ve contributed to the program.
Northeastern did just that. A touching pregame ceremony honored Fritz, and the big man was back in the Huskies’ starting lineup after a myriad of injuries had kept him out for a good chunk of the last several weeks.
However, once the game itself got underway, the good feeling gave way to a familiar one. Right away, it was the Pride that took the lead, drawing first blood with a stepback jumper by junior sensation Cruz Davis.
Even as Davis — who many expect to be the CAA Player of the Year — exerted his influence over the game, the Huskies began to respond. A 16-4 run culminating in a William Kermoury jumper turned a 17-6 Hofstra lead into a one-point Northeastern advantage with eight minutes to play in the half. Davis kept his finger on the pulse, though, scoring eight points in a matter of minutes to elevate the Pride back on top.
A Xavier Abreu layup hemmed the margin all the way back to two at 32-30, but Hofstra finished the half on a 7-0 spurt, mostly thanks to the play of freshman guard Jaeden Roberts. Roberts, a Boston native, had his own contingent of fans present at the Cabot Center, and when he hit a midrange jumper to close out the frame, the noise inside the building really began to tilt against the Huskies.
Whatever competitive spirit Northeastern had in the first half faded in the second. Davis and backcourt mate Preston Edmead got going in a hurry, and a Huskies offense that’d been fading at the end of the first half continued that trend after the intermission. In a blink, the Pride led 58-36, and a beleaguered, shorthanded Northeastern team looked ready to roll over.
They didn’t completely collapse — the score actually got within ten points with just over a minute to play — but the result was never even close to being in doubt. A monstrous block by the seven-foot Silas Sunday on Northeastern’s Mike Loughnane punctuated the game’s final stretch, and the Pride put the finishing touches on an 82-68 victory.
Hofstra poses a particularly tough matchup for Northeastern’s woeful defense, as they boast two of the CAA’s best — and shiftiest — guards. Davis and Edmead have fired the Pride to new heights this season, guiding them to statement wins over Syracuse and Pittsburgh as well as a 10-6 conference mark that has Hofstra firmly in the running for a double-bye in the conference tournament.
“Cruz [Davis] always makes the big play when you need it,” Bill Coen said postgame. “I think they probably have the best backcourt in the league. Arguably the player of the year [in Davis], … arguably the rookie of the year [in Edmead].”
The duo combined for 41 points and nine assists, while graduate student forward German Plotnikov chipped in with 18. Sophomore forward Joshua DeCady had just nine points, but made timely plays defensively and seemed to be in the area of any and every loose ball.
While the loss had no impact on Northeastern’s CAA outlook — the Huskies have been more or less locked into the conference tournament play-in game for a month — it was a stark reminder of how wide the gap is between themselves and the teams at the top of the league. Yes, injuries have been unkind to these Huskies, but they’ve now lost four of their last five by double digits, with the lone exception coming by nine points.
With that miserable stretch serving as the backdrop, consider this: with almost nothing material to play for, Youri Fritz has battled back from several different injuries, including an MCL sprain, to work his way onto the floor for Northeastern. His leadership both on and off the floor has been instrumental for a program chock full of youth and inexperience, even if it hasn’t translated to wins in this campaign.
“He’s an unbelievable young man,” Coen said. “He’s a really good student, he’s involved in community service… he’s all about the right things.
“We talk about being the teammate you’d always like to play with, and I think he’s always done that. He’s gotten better both years he’s been here… he’s battled some injuries, but he’s put his mark on [our program].”
Northeastern’s other graduates — LA Pratt and Haris Elezovic — did not participate in Senior Day. Pratt has already announced his intention to take an injury redshirt year, while Elezovic’s future eligibility is somewhat unclear.
Northeastern returns to action on Thursday at William & Mary. WRBB will have written coverage, with tip set for 7 p.m.