Northeastern men’s basketball (2-2, 0-0 CAA) bade farewell to the historic Matthews Arena with an 85-74 loss to the University of Vermont Catamounts (4-0, 0-0 America East) Nov. 15.

Before the game, Northeastern honored past Huskies and men’s basketball hall of fame inductees, who reflected on their time and memories at Matthews Arena. 

“It was really great to see so many faces,” head coach Bill Coen said of seeing the alumni. “Guys that have built the program that now stands at Northeastern on the back of those gentlemen.”

Vermont attacked early, and the Huskies stole the ball in response, but lost possession. Vermont scored a three-pointer after a minute and half, courtesy of graduate student guard TJ Long. Sophomore guard Luca Soroa Schaller then scored a layup for the Huskies, bringing the score to 3-2. 

Vermont missed, and the Huskies were on attack when redshirt freshman forward Xander Alarie won a foul. Junior guard William Kermoury then scored a second-chance jumper, and Alarie scored a second-chance basket off a Kermoury shot, putting the score at 6-3 for the Huskies. 

Northeastern retained possession after a timeout and drove in the paint, but the Catamounts were swift to steal the ball before sending it out of play. Junior guard Mike Loughnane was subbed into play and had an immediate impact, scoring a jumper on the edge of the area. The Catamounts were quick to respond with a three-pointer, bringing the score to 8-6 with 14 minutes left to play. 

A Catamounts foul gave the Huskies possession. Loughnane scored another, this time a driving layup. The Huskies retained possession, and Soroa Schaller scored a layup from under the basket, bringing the score to 12-6. 

After a tussle at the Huskies’ basket, the Catamounts got possession off a jump ball and scored a three-pointer. With 12 minutes to go,  the deficit was three points and the score sat at 12-9. 

Another Vermont foul sent Loughnane to the line for two, and he sank both of them. The Huskies gave away possession, and the Catamounts scored a layup with 11 minutes to go. Northeastern stole the ball and passed fluidly, which ended with a layup by freshman center Liam Koelsch to bring the score to 16-11 with 11 minutes left in the half.

The Huskies blocked a Vermont basket and went on the attack, and junior guard JB Frankel scored a three. The Catamounts were responsive, shooting a three-pointer to widen the gap to five points at 19-14. The Catamounts then scored again after a Northeastern kick ball violation that gave them possession with seven minutes left to play.

With the Huskies in possession, senior guard Youri Fritz scored a dunk to give the Huskies some breathing room. But the Catamounts were relentless, scoring a three-pointer, 21-19. A foul on Frankel put the Huskies on the double bonus, shooting and scoring both. The Catamounts scored again 23-21 in an end-to-end thriller with six and a half minutes to go. 

Alarie stole the ball and sent Northeastern on the attack, but the Catamounts were wise to it and stopped the team’s advance. When Vermont missed, the Huskies won possession and Frankel netted another. 

The Catamounts got the ball and attempted, but the basket didn’t count because of an offensive foul by redshirt sophomore forward Noah Barnett. 

Vermont regained possession and scored a hookshot. The score was 25-23 with just under four minutes left. 

The Huskies sent the ball out, and Vermont capitalized, scoring a three-pointer and making the score 28-25. The Catamounts used their momentum and scored a driving layup, opening a small lead over the Huskies. 

Northeastern won a foul, and Fritz shot and scored two to cut the deficit to one point with two minutes to go. The Catamounts responded with a layup to extend their lead. The Huskies were quick to respond with a Kermoury layup and a dunk from Alarie. 

Vermont misplaced a pass, sending Kermoury on a solo run, which he capped off with a layup to give the Huskies a lead going into the break with the score 33-30. 

The Catamounts opened the second half in possession but failed to score. After a scuffle and a display of skill, Alarie scored a layup and a foul shot to give the Huskies a six-point lead a minute into the half. 

The Huskies kept possession and won a foul, which saw Schaller at line for two, scoring one. The Catamounts opened their second half of scoring with a three-pointer by senior guard TJ Hurley. Kermoury had a response with a three after good passing play from the Huskies brought the score to 40-33. 

Vermont added on a pullup jumper to bring the score to 40-35. Inside a minute, Kermoury then scored his second three-pointer. The Catamounts then responded with a layup, which closed the gap to three points.  

The Huskies had some sloppy passing play that gave the Catamounts opportunity in possession, but they failed to capitalize. The Huskies blocked a shot and maintained possession after the ball went out of play. Northeastern was on the attack, and Fritz scored a driving layup, which brought the score to 45-37 with 15 minutes left. 

Vermont had possession and scored a second-chance layup. But a foul sent Fritz to the line, continuing the Huskies’ free-throw accuracy, taking and scoring two. 

The Catamounts remained on the hunt and scored a three-pointer to eat into Northeastern’s lead. Redshirt sophomore forward Gus Yalden scored a layup. A Husky foul gave the Catamounts possession, and Yalden scored again, winning a foul but failing to score on the free throw. 

Vermont kept possession after Northeastern committed a traveling violation, then scored another to take a one-point lead at 48-47 with just under 12 minutes left. After the timeout, the Catamounts were early to attack with a buzzer-beater three-pointer by sophomore guard Sean Blake. The Huskies drove into the paint, but Kermoury’s shot was swatted away by Barnett. 

The Huskies continued applying pressure, and Alarie broke through, but the basket didn’t count because of an offensive foul by Loughnane. The score remained 51-47 for the Catamounts. 

The Huskies tried to close the gap. Loughnane stole the ball, and the Huskies rushed down to attack, but Kermoury’s three bounced off the rim. The Catamounts took the rebound and scored another three to bring the score to 57-49. 

Fritz won a foul and scored one after being bodychecked by Barnett. The Catamounts missed a shot, and Kermoury got the rebound, sending the Huskies on the attack. Fritz won a foul — putting the Huskies on the double bonus — but he didn’t score the first, so the second was not attempted. 

The Catamounts were right back on attack with Yalden scoring a three-pointer, which made the gap 10 points with eight minutes to go. 

The Huskies returned to play with Fritz shooting and scoring two as the Huskies tried to get back on terms with the Catamounts. Vermont swiftly scored a three-pointer to take the score to 63-52. 

The Huskies made the most of their possession, with Alarie scoring a second-chance basket off a Frankel miss. The Catamounts got the ball but missed a shot. Fritz claimed the rebound and sent the Huskies on the offensive, but Alarie missed his three. 

Northeastern kept working hard and drove hard into the paint but missed two shots. 

Despite the Huskies’ active defense, Yalden broke through to score a layup and win a foul, which brought the score to 65-54 with five minutes left. Yalden then scored from the line, completing his three-point play. 

The Catamounts netted another to bring the gap to 14 points. Northeastern didn’t give up, stole the ball and won a foul. Fritz was back at the line, scoring one of two with only three minutes left. 

Vermont was swift to reply with an undefended layup. After some smart passing, sophomore guard Ryan Williams scored a three-pointer to eat into the Catamounts’ lead, 70–58. 

Vermont continued with the lead. Soroa Schaller won a foul on the bonus, scoring one with two minutes left. A foul by freshman guard Xavier Abreu sent Vermont to the line, shooting and scoring two. 

Soroa Schaller then scored a layup and won a foul. He scored his free throw to complete his three-point play and bring the gap down to single digits at 74-65.

The Huskies committed a defensive foul that sent Blake to the line, scoring one with a minute and a half left in regulation time. The Huskies committed another foul, and Hurley scored two for a 12-point lead. 

With just a minute remaining, the Huskies netted a jumper to keep themselves in the game. However, Barnett then quickly scored a dunk to bring the score to 79-67. Northeastern committed a foul which sent Vermont to the line, shooting and scoring two. 

Soroa Schaller attempted a three but missed. The Catamounts got the rebound, which sent Barnett flying solo on the offensive. He capped off the play with a dunk, taking the gap to 16 points with only 30 seconds left. 

Soroa Schaller then scored a three-pointer from the corner to inch into the lead in the dying seconds of the game. 

The Catamounts had possession and sent a long ball down the court to Barnett, who dunked, making the score 85-70. The Huskies then combined at the net for a layup by Fritz. With the ball in possession, the Huskies drove into the paint before a reverse finish by Williams to bring the final score to 85-74.

Despite the loss, the crowd rallied behind the Huskies, celebrating each point until the final buzzer at their final game in Matthews. 

 “I want to thank Matthews [Arena] for all the great memories it’s created throughout the years. It’s been of great service to the university and the community,” Coen said. “The only disappointing part of the day was the result of the basketball game. I’m proud of my team for their effort.”

The team will go on the road to face off against the Princeton University Tigers (2-2, 0-0 Ivy League) Nov. 20 at the Jadwin Gymnasium at 7 p.m.