The Northeastern men’s basketball team (1-1, 0-0 CAA) narrowly fell to Princeton University (3-0, Ivy League 0-0) Nov. 10 after a tough battle, 79-76. 

Princeton’s junior forward Caden Pierce tallied the opening point of the game off a free throw from a foul by junior center Collin Metcalf, but missed the second opportunity. 

The Huskies had some trouble rebounding, which was a consistent theme through the first half. 

Junior guard Harold Woods notched the first basket for Northeastern almost a minute into the game. He was in the left corner of the paint and took on the defender in front of him, managing to get around and put the ball up for a basket for 1-0. 

Off a Princeton pass, junior guard LA Pratt intercepted the ball. He passed it down to sophomore guard William Kermoury, who quickly passed the ball to junior guard Rashad King, who scored.

Princeton, still unable to get a basket, was fouled by Kermoury. Pierce made both of his free throws, closing the gap between the two teams at 4-3 with Northeastern on top with 16 minutes left. 

The Huskies still found opportunities to bring a little space in the score, with Metcalf capitalizing on a rebound, followed by Woods scoring after a pass from King. 

However, Princeton was not letting the game slip away that easily. With under 14 minutes to go, senior guard Blake Peters scored the first three-pointer of the game, tying the game at eight apiece. 

Off Princeton’s attempt to rebound the ball after a Northeastern shot, Woods snatched the ball off the touch and scored. This lead was short-lived, as Peters notched a second a three-pointer, placing the Tigers on top. 

After some unlucky misses for the Huskies, freshman guard Ryan Williams and Woods both secured baskets that put the Huskies ahead at 14-11.

Northeastern’s patience on offense was what kept them in the game, but this did not translate to defense and also brought in some miscommunication between players. This lack of patience did not help when Pierce scored a three-pointer, evening the score yet again. 

With eight minutes left in the half, Woods scored off a missed basket from sophomore guard JB Frankel. This put Northeastern at 16 and Princeton at 13, but this advantage was again short-lived. Princeton’s sophomore guard Dalen Davis earned a three, and not long after, he scored again, putting the Tigers ahead 18-16. 

Northeastern was struggling to find success in their three-pointer attempts and their frustration led to fouls and more points for Princeton. Junior guard Xaivian Lee tallied a basket and then sophomore guard Jackson Hicke made both of his free throws to extend the lead. 

With four minutes left in the half, Davis managed to make another three-pointer, but Kermoury also happened to add a three in an effort to close the gap before the half ended. Woods secured a basket of his own, bringing the score to 27-21 Princeton. This back-and-forth continued through the rest of the half, as Northeastern frantically tried to catch up. 

The half ended with Williams making a basket with less than a minute remaining, and some solid defense from forward graduate student Alexander Nwagha, who blocked and snatched the ball from the other team. 

The Huskies came out hot in the second half, with King making a basket in less than thirty seconds and Woods scoring, closing the deficit to 35-34. 

Princeton followed up with a two-pointer, but Kermoury came in clutch to secure a three, putting Northeastern back on top 37-36 with a little over 18 minutes left. 

The tension continued with both teams making and missing crucial points throughout the half, as well as having both questionable fouls.  

Some of the fouls were necessary, however, including when Pratt fouled Davis after he was able to intercept the pass between Kermoury and Pratt to earn a breakaway with 15:45 minutes left. 

Princeton took a timeout with less than 14 minutes left, both teams tied at 45. 

Coming out of the timeout, Pierce drove toward the basket, but Metcalf steered the ball clear from Northeastern’s basket. However, this block was a goaltending violation, meaning the basket counted despite Metcalf’s attempt to stop it. 

With a minute and seven seconds in the game, Northeastern was barely hanging onto their 74-72 lead — and then the shift happened. Peters managed to score a three with less than a minute left, bringing Princeton up to 75. 

Trying to bounce back, Pratt drove to the basket with 12 seconds left, tallying the two points due to Princeton’s illegal block, keeping the score at 76-75.

Six seconds later, Princeton’s freshman forward Malik Abdullahi made a layup, putting Princeton up to 77.

The Huskies searched for another basket but were unable to follow through, and in their attempt Metcalf fouled Abdullahi, earning Princeton two more points on the free throws in the final second of play. 

As the clock expired, Princeton beat Northeastern for the third year in a row, with the final score 76-79. The Huskies outperformed Princeton in several other key statistics. For the Huskies, Woods was the lead scorer with 27 points and for the Tigers it was Davis with 25. The Huskies beat Princeton in field goal percentage at 52%, with the Tigers trailing at 43%. In terms of defense, Princeton and Northeastern had three and four blocks, respectively. The Tigers had six blocks and the Huskies had four.  

Northeastern takes on Harvard University (1-2, Ivy League 0-0) at home Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.