Northeastern’s men’s basketball (15-14, 7-9 CAA) narrowly lost to the Monmouth University Hawks (11-18, 9-7 CAA) in a thrilling 73-78 game Feb. 24.
This was a particularly important matchup for both sides, as sixth place in the Coastal Athletics Association, or CAA, table was on the line. It was also a clash of two of the highest scoring players in the league, Husky junior guard Rashad King, averaging 18 points per game and Monmouth sophomore guard Abdi Bashir Jr., who is the top scorer in the CAA, averaging 20.1 points per game. Both teams were also evenly matched at one and three in the league for blocking: Northeastern with 4.86 to Monmouth’s 4.28 blocks per game.
The game was played end to end with the lead changing hands 16 times. The Huskies scored 43.3% in field goals, improving on their 39.3% from the previous game. The Huskies drilled down on the basics, tightening up on their passing and ball rotation in comparison to last week’s defeat against the College of Charleston Cougars.
The game was packed with season highs and records for both the Huskies and the Hawks. Monmouth’s Bashir Jr. broke the school’s record for most three-pointers made in a season with 110 total, eight of which he scored in this game. He also had a season high of six rebounds against the Huskies.
Several Huskies made season highs and had record equalling performances.
Junior guard LA Pratt dominated scoring for the Huskies with a season high of 26 points and five three-pointers. Junior center Collin Metcalf protected the rim with a career-high seven blocks, equalling the most made in a game by a Husky since 2006. This puts Metcalf among the top-10 blockers in the country with 75 so far this season.
Sophomore guard JB Frankel scored 14 points total and improved on his free-throw percentage, making four of four to take his season average to .857 when shooting from the line. Sophomore guard William Kermoury went three for five in three-pointers and scored a total of 11 points.
Monmouth now sits at sixth in the league and Northeastern in ninth with two games to go before the CAA tournament in March.
The Huskies take on the North Carolina A&T Aggies (7-22, 3-13 CAA), in their final home game Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
