BOSTON – Northeastern freshman guard Ryan Williams scored a dazzling 21 points on 5-7 shooting from three-point range, as the Huskies dominated the Harvard Crimson, 78-56.
Coming off of a tough loss to the Princeton Tigers on Sunday, Northeastern looked to regain their footing against Harvard Wednesday night. The Crimson came into Matthews Arena after back-to-back losses in the previous week, and were hoping to extend their all-time matchup win streak versus Northeastern – who had not beaten them since 2019. Harvard also had a high-caliber freshman of their own in Robert Hinton, who had just been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the week of 11/4-11/10.
But poor shooting on many wide-open opportunities allowed the game to quickly fall out of the hands of the Crimson, who never had the lead.
It was all Huskies to begin the contest, jumping out to an early 14-2 lead after a three-pointer from junior guard LA Pratt, and two three-pointers from Williams off the bench. Their lead was as large as 21 points after a layup by Williams with 2:46 to go in the first half, giving him 13 points at the break.
A different Husky has emerged as a possible threat to opponents in each of the three games played this season; Pratt against Boston University, junior guard Harold Woods against Princeton and now the freshman Williams. With uncertainty before the season on who could fill in the gaps left by multiple key players, especially beyond the arc, the performances from these three players is a much-appreciated sight for head coach Bill Coen and his staff.
Harvard, on the other hand, were still without a made three-point basket to start the second half, a completely opposite story from the Huskies who had already made six of them by intermission.
The Crimson continued to struggle, missing 20 three-point attempts before sophomore forward Thomas Batties II connected on a wide-open look to end the drought with eleven minutes to play in the game.
Fans of both teams cheered in relief, but after the Crimson connected again on an open look, cheers turned to murmurs of concern. Luckily, Harvard continued to struggle, connecting on only four of their 31 attempts.
If you’re the Huskies, 31 three-point attempts — a majority that were open looks — is not something that will be taken lightly. Nonetheless, the Huskies shot above 50% from the field for the third time this season, and their smart shot selection and active paint presence on both sides of the floor helped them maintain their lead.
In the final few minutes of the game, sophomore guard JB Frankel hit a three-pointer and freshman guard Luca Soroa sank two free throws for the pair’s first points of the season. And with a roaring crowd response, senior walk-on guard Nate Francois made his collegiate varsity debut, scoring his first points on a made free throw after running the fast break.
Contributing to a victorious night, the big men holding down the paint had their best games so far this season. Graduate student Alexander Nwagha was the second leading scorer with 14 points, and the forward grabbed four rebounds as well. Junior center Collin Metcalf had four points and seven rebounds, also contributing on the defensive side with two blocks and three steals.
The paint was owned by the Huskies again, scoring over 40 points under the basket for the third straight game. The height advantage was in their favor, especially for guards like Harold Woods and Rashad King to drive inside, but also create opportunities for the bigs. They once again locked up their opponent’s top scorer and star player, holding Hinton to eight points on 2-10 shooting.
This recurring theme of shutting down star players could help the Huskies come conference play, possibly helping them to victories against tougher opponents like Charleston. But with many non-conference games still to go, it gives them plenty of time to work on guarding the three, especially if they want to match up against similar-ranked opponents in the CAA like William & Mary — who are currently attempting the third-most three-point shots per game in the NCAA this season.
With some positives and negatives becoming clearer, the Huskies emerge from tonight’s battle with a 2-1 record and a good amount of momentum. The team will look to continue that momentum as they travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, for a contest against Central Connecticut State on Saturday. WRBB will have live coverage from Jacob Phillips and Aidan Lothian on WRBB 104.9 FM. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.