By Jake Sauberman, news staff
After a decent 4-3 start, the Northeastern University (NU) men’s basketball team dropped a pair of close games to Stony Brook University and Harvard University. While the scoreboard read that the Huskies were in each game until the end, there’s an unmistakable sense that these losses could have easily been wins.
“The good part is that we’re extremely competitive in each and every game we’ve been in,” head coach Bill Coen said. “The kids have shown the ability to fight through adversity and compete buzzer to buzzer.”
Taking on Stony Brook in New York on Saturday, the Huskies couldn’t shut the door on a second-half comeback, suffering a 77-75 loss.
Senior point guard T.J. Williams led the way for Northeastern, dropping 20 points and seven assists and chipping in two steals. Foul trouble kept him out of the game at times, leaving the offense shorthanded. Graduate forward Alex Murphy was there to pick up the slack, contributing 19 points and six rebounds of his own in a team-high 39 minutes.
Falling to a 15-point deficit deep into the first half, NU found themselves in a daunting yet familiar position. Just recently, the team fought back from a 17-point hole to shock Kent State University, so the Huskies knew they had it in them to fight back. And fight they did, clawing back to a 75-75 tie by the final minutes of play.
While the team’s resilience is an encouraging silver lining, Northeastern will have to break its current three-game losing streak to truly build momentum going forward.
Coen said he understands the urgency to get back to the team’s early winning ways.
“Whether it’s having a lead and seeing it stripped away late, or having a comeback fall a little short, we still have some work to do,” he said. “We just need to get two possessions better each game.”
All five of the Huskies’ losses have been within six points. This can either lead to frustration, knowing that the team is just a couple of key plays from seven or eight wins, or hope, knowing that the team is better than the 4-5 record indicates. Coen chose to keep it positive, looking at the bigger picture.
“While it is frustrating with the results, I’m pleased with our progress,” he said. “We preach to our team each and every day, ‘Stick to the process, the goal is to improve.’ And if we do that every day, we’ll be happy with the results toward the end of the season.”
However, the results from Tuesday’s game at Harvard were uninspiring. Losing 86-80, the six-point margin of defeat was NU’s largest of the season.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Miller had the best game of his season, pouring in 26 points, knocking down two threes and corralling eight rebounds. He managed a steal and a block on the defensive end, serving as an important internal presence on a relatively small team.
“We need Jeremy to play a huge role on this team,” Coen said. “He brings versatility, obviously the ability to score the ball. We need him to be a complete two-way player, somebody that can help protect the rim, stay out of foul trouble and at the same time be able to give us a scoring punch on the offensive end.”
Outside of Miller’s big night, Williams again put in another 20 points with four assists and eight boards. It was a historic night for the point guard, who has now started the year with seven 20-point games — the most since current NBA veteran J.J. Barea did so for the Huskies in 2005-06. Coen remembers watching Barea dominate when he served as Boston College’s assistant coach.
“I think there are some similarities [between the two], but I think the thing I’m most proud about is T.J.’s progress throughout his career,” he said. “He’s completely dialed in and wants to win.”
The Huskies will look to finally string some wins together when they take on the University of Vermont on Dec. 10 before traveling to Michigan State on Dec. 18.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
