A disjointed run of play in Saturday’s second half saw Northeastern fall behind and never recover, ultimately suffering a 71-60 defeat at the hands of the Elon Phoenix.
To be frank, most of Saturday’s performance was somewhat disjointed; however, for large chunks of the night, the Huskies’ offensive ineptitude was matched stride-for-stride by Elon’s. When the Phoenix finally got going – which they did almost immediately after the intermission – Northeastern simply couldn’t keep up.
In LA Pratt’s return to the Schar Center, he got on the board almost immediately, following up a JB Frankel three with a transition dunk in the early going to get the Huskies started. Neither team really gained separation, though – a Collin Metcalf layup gave the visitors a 22-15 cushion with six minutes remaining in the half, but sophomore guard TJ Simpkins led an Elon response to knot the game at 28 heading into halftime.
The first half was as ugly as it was tightly-contested; open shots for either side were hard to come by, and the sides combined to shoot 4-of-22 from three and throw the ball away 14 times. Only Frankel and 7-foot-4 Phoenix center Matthew Van Komen (more on him in a bit) managed to break into double-digit scoring in the frame.
Unfortunately for Northeastern, the first half was not without notable events. With 1:11 showing on the clock, the Huskies’ Youri Fritz went up to challenge an Elon layup; the Dutch forward landed awkwardly, instantly grabbing his foot/ankle area and grimacing in pain. To add insult to injury (quite literally, in this case), the play in question was actually a dead ball – unbeknownst to seemingly everyone on the court, the whistle had actually sounded several seconds prior for a Husky foul.
Fritz was unable to return (although he did remain on the bench receiving treatment), and when the second half began, his absence showed almost immediately. Northeastern struggled to guard a big Phoenix roster that suddenly found the determination to dominate the paint, generating good look after good look to begin the half on a 10-2 run. A William Kermoury three from what felt like Raleigh stemmed the bleeding, but another 10-2 Elon spurt (mostly due to Husky turnovers) moments later stretched the lead to 48-36.
On a night where Northeastern just couldn’t get going, a 12-point river might as well have been a 30-point ocean. The Huskies nibbled away, but every time they felt poised to make a run, the home team answered with conviction. The gap never got closer than nine, and a Nick Dorn three with 3:26 left slammed the door shut as the Phoenix defended home court with a 71-60 win.
The win marked a milestone for coach Billy Taylor, who recorded his 250th win on Saturday night. Taylor’s been at Elon for three years, and coached at Ball State and Lehigh previously.
“I wouldn’t be here without the great young men that I’ve had,” said Taylor. “With it being alumni weekend, no better way to do it… honoring the guys who’ve helped me get here.”
Elon is the biggest team in the CAA, and showed it on Saturday; the frontcourt duo of Van Komen and 6-foot-11 senior forward Sam Sherry imposed their will on Northeastern, combining for 24 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocked shots. Uncoincidentally, the pair also registered the two highest plus/minus marks of any player, finishing with 15 and 14, respectively.
Van Komen in particular was dominant; the Huskies simply had no answer for the three-time transfer, who altered countless shots at the heart of the Phoenix zone defense. Additionally, the Utah native secured a whopping eight offensive rebounds – contributing significantly to Elon’s 19 second-chance points – and even managed to come up with two steals.
“This is a huge win for us… we just gotta keep the ball rolling,” said Van Komen. “Fans are everything… it’s been huge having people come to the games, show out.”
If there are any positives to take away from this one for Northeastern, it’d be the play of Kermoury; the Swede knocked down four triples and led the team with 15 points in his second game back from injury. Metcalf played well, too, scoring 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting alongside two blocks.
Elsewhere, though, it was pretty dismal; no other Husky shot over 40% from the floor. Frankel went quiet after a 10-point first half, Harold Woods stumbled to a 1-of-6 night with four turnovers, and Pratt shot just 3-of-9 in his homecoming. Rashad King managed to contribute 15 points, but shot just 4-of-13 and did the majority of his damage with the result already determined.
For King, it was the latest in a string of somewhat inefficient performances. After a red-hot, transformative start to the season, the junior has fallen back to earth in recent weeks. Since a December 8 win over Colgate, King’s shot over 50% just once, and is converting on below 27% of his triples in that span – look for him to get back on track if Northeastern is to make a late-season run.
A 1-1 start to a road trip isn’t the end of the world, though, and a softer back half of the conference schedule provides a real opportunity to climb the standings. For the time being, though, the Huskies will move into February staring up at nine teams ahead of them in the table, feeling the pressure of mounting work to be done.
Northeastern will close out a road swing with revenge in mind when they travel to Hofstra for Thursday’s game, with tip set for 7 p.m. Written coverage will be provided on the website with a telecast on FloSports.