BOSTON — After suffering the biggest loss of the season against Holy Cross on Wednesday, the Huskies need a bounce-back performance. They got exactly that, erupting for a 73-56 victory over Central Connecticut State University in front of an energized Cabot Center crowd that hadn’t seen Northeastern men’s basketball in a decade.
“It was awesome to be back in Cabot,” said head coach Bill Coen. “I thought it was a great atmosphere in advance, gave us a lot of energy today and we were dealing with some injuries and kind of making adjustments on the fly, but I was proud of the guys. Everybody stepped up and assumed new roles and excelled motion.”
With three players injured, the undermanned Huskies relied on contributions throughout the roster. Junior guard William Kermoury led scorers with 18 points, all from beyond the arc. It was a big afternoon for the Huskies’ rookies, as well. Freshman guard Xavier Abreu added 15 points, and after scoring his first point on Wednesday, freshman forward Ty Francis stepped up for a total of 10 points and dominated the glass with 12 rebounds.
“Just great energy,” Coen said of Francis. “I thought he came in with this immediate lift. I was most proud of his rebound. He got 12 rebounds on the glass, but just played with natural energy the whole game, and exactly what we needed today.”
One large source of struggle for the Blue Devils was the uncharacteristic struggles of sophomore forward Darin Smith Jr. The forward has been a key component for the Blue Devils in past games, averaging 20.6 points per game and hitting a game-winning shot against Boston College with 3.2 seconds left. Against Northeastern, however, Smith went 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from deep in the first half.
Junior guard JB Frankelle opened the scoring for Northeastern, and Kermoury followed with a three-pointer. When Central Connecticut State responded with an airball, Kermoury published them by making back-to-back three pointers that set the tone early.
The Huskies really settled into their rhythm midway through the opening frame. Abreu converted a layup off two skip passes, igniting a 13-2 run that stretched over seven minutes. With no response from the Blue Devils, the Huskies were just accumulating momentum. Francis threw an alley-oop dunk that energized the crowd, though CCSU junior forward Max Frazier finally ended the visitors’ four-minute scoring drought with a layup. When Frazier attempted a dunk shortly after, Francis swatted it away and pushed the pace, leading to Kermoury tallying a three-pointer from the right wing that brought fans to their feet.
Senior guard Jay Rodgers kept the Blue Devils within striking distance, scoring 12 points in the first half to cut the deficit to six with six minutes remaining. However, Kermoury continued finding success from deep, as the Blue Devils left him wide open repeatedly, and Abreu’s interior scoring pushed the lead back to 14 by halftime. After the first half, Northeastern led 35-21 while shooting 42.9% from the field and 37.5% from three, compared to Central Connecticut’s 30% and 20% marks.
“You’re always concerned at halftime, especially when you come out with a lot of energy, just kind of sustaining that,” Coen said. “We knew that we couldn’t have a letup.”
And they didn’t. The Huskies carried their momentum into the second, continuing to push the pace against CCSU.
In another big moment for the Husky rookies, freshman center Liam Koelsch announced his presence immediately with a dunk to open the second half, after scoring no points in the first. When senior guard Melo Sanchez made a three-pointer for the Blue Devils, Koelsch responded with another dunk, sending the Cabot Center faithful out of their seats.
Smith stepped up his gameplay in the second half, converting two free throws for his first points of the game. He finished with 12 points total, a stark contrast to his typical performance. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Francis continued driving to the rim, fueling a 12-0 Northeastern run. A layup from freshman guard Ashton Reynolds stopped CCSU’s bleeding, but the team could not stop Keymoury. Left unguarded on the perimeter, he drained two more three-pointers as part of a 7-0 run that extended Central Connecticut’s scoring drought to three minutes.
The Blue Devils trimmed the lead, as the efforts of Smith and Rodgers combined for a 6-0 run. However, the damage was done. Northeastern led 70-52, and sophomore guard Luca Soroa Schaller iced the visitors’ run with a three-pointer to finish with a final score of 73-56.
Northeastern dominated the glass 43-35, dished out 15 assists to Central Connecticut’s nine, and shot 85.7% from the free-throw line. Through the afternoon, the Huskies shot 36% from three-point range and 46% from the field overall, numbers that reflected their offensive efficiency throughout the afternoon.
The Huskies’ win pushes them to a 4-5 record on the season. Despite their dominance in the Sunday contest, Northeastern is still looking for more with conference play just a few games away.
“We just got to get better,” Coen said. We have a little bit of a break here for finals, but we played six freshmen today. They’re all kind of getting their feet wet and the big thing, they were all contributing at a high level. The next step is consistency.”
The Huskies will look to find that consistency when they travel to Syracuse Saturday, Dec. 20, with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
Madison Ferreira is a first-year student at Northeastern University. You can find her articles here.