WASHINGTON, D.C. – Entering Friday afternoon, the Northeastern Huskies were staring down the barrel of two unpleasant streaks.
First, and most importantly, the Huskies had lost 12 games in a row. They’d made some games close, but opponents had controlled — and won — each of those contests, dating all the way back to a mid-January triumph over Elon.
Second, Northeastern hadn’t won a CAA tournament game in four tries, or since 2022. For senior students like myself, that means I’d gone my entire collegiate career without seeing the Huskies win a postseason game.
But, in a game that the Huskies controlled from the opening tip, they broke both of those streaks in stylish fashion, keeping their season alive in a comprehensive 88-72 win over the NC A&T Aggies.
Both sides were as healthy as they’d been in some time, with Northeastern getting Will Kermoury back after a brief absence and the Aggies at all but full strength. So, even with this being the 12/13 matchup, there was some sense around the arena that both of these teams felt like a win in this game could serve as a springboard to a potential run.
That sense led to some inspired play early. Neither side opened by shooting the cover off the ball, but two defenses that ranked near the bottom of the CAA turned up the heat. Back-and-forth, mistake-laden play gave way to a 17-17 deadlock just before the midway mark of the opening stanza, with the Huskies getting quality minutes from both freshman center Petar Pinter and junior guard Mike Loughnane.
A rare three-pointer by Northeastern forward Ty Francis thirty seconds later gave the Huskies a lead, and they wouldn’t trail again. Loughnane knocked down a three, JB Frankel hit a layup, and minutes later, Northeastern finished the half with a 13-2 flourish to take a 40-24 lead.
NC A&T tried to claw their way back in it, deploying a full-court press for the majority of the second half. They pulled within 11 at various points, and flirted with making it closer — buoyed by the Huskies missing layup after layup — but Northeastern held their resolve. A massive three by Loughnane with a touch over eight minutes remaining restored a 15-point lead, and a similarly massive three by freshman guard Xavier Abreu put the game on ice a few minutes later. When the free-throw shooting and window-dressing came to an end, the Huskies had closed out a feel-good, season-saving 88-72 win.
The win also marked Northeastern head coach Bill Coen’s 200th career CAA win, the only coach in league history to accomplish the feat. If you ask him, though, that milestone pales in comparison to the feat of simply extending the Huskies’ season.
“We shoot a lot of threes, and today they went in,” said Coen. “We took good care of the ball… for the most part, our guard play was really good.”
Northeastern shot 10-for-23 from distance on the day, including seven makes in the first half. The Aggies, meanwhile, shot just 3-for-12.
Loughnane was the star of the show for the Huskies, tying Abreu with a game-high 18 points. Loughnane added six assists, and made big play after big play to keep his team afloat.
“We [all season] thought we’d have a game like this,” Loughnane said. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when.”
Northeastern’s next opponent? Drexel, who the Huskies went 0-2 against this year. Both losses were relatively close, but there’s clearly a gap between these two squads — one Northeastern will have to bridge if they’d like their season to continue.
And, based on how they played on Friday, that’s certainly something they’re interested in.
Northeastern returns to action on Saturday, taking on Drexel at 2:30 in the second round. Jordan Walsh and Jacob Phillips will have your call on Sports+.