In a rematch of last year’s CAA championship game, the No. 6 seed Northeastern men’s basketball team fell to No. 1 seed Hofstra last night in Washington D.C., 70-61. Before the championship game, the Huskies defeated Towson 72-62 and Elon 68-60. Despite their loss, the team showed the grit and energy they’ve been harvesting all season.

They’re Grrrrrreat!

The Huskies (17-16, 9-9 CAA) last saw the Towson Tigers (19-13, 12-6 CAA) in their final game at home a week prior, where the Tigers stomped out the Huskies, 75-72. But, as NU head coach Bill Coen said after that game, the week before playoffs is a complete reset. 

And the Huskies pressed the reset button.

Junior guard Maxime Boursiquot, who in the past was the team’s go-to defenseman, led the Huskies with 16 points, followed by senior guard Bolden Brace’s 15 points and eight rebounds, junior guard Shaquille Walters’s 14 points and freshman guard Tyson Walker’s 13 points and four assists. This was Walker’s first game back on the court since suffering a shoulder injury a few weeks prior.

The Tiger’s senior guard Brian Fobbs led the game with 21 points, but was unable to catch the Huskies’ tails. 

Northeastern saw 20 points off turnovers compared to Towson’s six, eventually reaching a 16 point lead and advancing to the next round of the tournament.

Watch that Phoenix Burn

Redshirt senior guard Jordan Roland reminded everyone what he was capable of against the Phoenixes (13-21, 7-11 CAA), and led the game with 21 points. He was closely followed by Elon freshman guard Hunter Mcintosh and graduate student Marcus Sheffield II, who both had 20 points. 

The Huskies would maintain their lead for the entirety of the game, at one point reaching a 20 point lead against the Phoenixes. 

Elon remained scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, as the Huskies came out of the locker room on fire and aggressive right from the start, one of their ingredients to their success this season. 

Burned in the first half, the Phoenixes were unable to rise from the ashes and defeat the Huskies, sending Northeastern to their third consecutive title game in a rematch against Hofstra.

The Pride Got in the Way

After their loss in last year’s CAA championship game against the Huskies, the Hofstra Pride (26-8, 14-4 CAA) wanted vengeance, and vengeance they got. 

In a close game of back-and-forth, which the Huskies have had trouble with all season, the six ties and eight lead changes would not end in the Huskies’s favor. 

The Huskies took an early lead in the first half, but senior guard Desure Buie, who led the game with 20 points and his accomplice junior guard Jalen Ray, who saw 17 points and eight rebounds, left Hofstra trailing by only two at the end of the half. Buie was named the tournament’s most outstanding player, while Ray was named to the CAA All-Tournament team. 

With the start of the second half, the Huskies tried to maintain their lead but the Pride continued to tie and took the lead for good after a Ray three-pointer. 

Hofstra banked 20 points off NU turnovers and saw 94.1% free throw success. They also had the three leading scorers of the game with Buie, Ray and senior guard Eli Pemberton (19 points) as well as the most rebounds with sophomore forward Isaac Kante who reached his career-high of 15 rebounds. Pemberton was also named to the All-Tournament team. 

Boursiquot led the Huskies with 15 points and nine rebounds, Brace had 13 points and five rebounds and Walters had 11 points and six rebounds.

With a season full of highs and lows, the Huskies may not have won the tournament, but their season was far from a failure. They received CAA recognition when Roland was named to the All-CAA first team and Walker was chosen for the CAA All-Rookie Team. Boursiquot, Brace and Roland were all named to the CAA All-Tournament team as well.