The Northeastern men’s basketball team (5-11, 1-4 CAA) lost 87-78 in two conference matchups against the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks (15-2, 4-0 CAA) Jan. 8 and the Towson University Tigers (9-9, 1-4 CAA) Jan. 10.

The Jan. 8 game kicked off with Northeastern on the board first as junior guard William Kermoury sank back-to-back three-point shots in the first two minutes of the game.

UNCW then took its first lead of the game thanks to a 3-pointer and layup by senior guard Christian May and another layup from redshirt junior forward Patrick Wessler.

For the next six minutes, the teams exchanged baskets and the lead. In this stretch, freshman guard Xavier Abreu, senior forward Youri Fritz and junior guard Mike Loughnane combined for 13 points. 

The Huskies began pulling away in the seventh minute thanks to a 7-0 scoring run led by Abreu and sophomore guard Ryan Williams. The Seahawks responded quickly and gained their own lead in the 11th minute, going up by one point. 

Northeastern would fail to gain any momentum for the remainder of the first half, only managing to lead the game one more time before facing a four-point deficit at the break.

The Huskies managed to regain control of the contest early in the second half when Fritz cut down UNCW’s six-point lead to one with two layups and a made free throw in the second and third minutes. 

The next 15 minutes were a back and forth affair, with the teams exchanging the lead nine times. The Huskies’ key contributors were Fritz with eight points, one rebound and one block and junior guard JB Frankel and Loughnane with four points each. Senior guard Madison Durr dominated for the Seahawks, putting up 10 points.

In the final four minutes, UNCW took over complete control of the contest. 

Senior guard Nolan Hodge began his team’s scoring run with five consecutive free throws and a 3-pointer to take a 76-70 lead. The Seahawks remained on the money at the line, with Durr sinking four back-to-back shots. Three more successful free throws gave UNCW its largest lead of the match, 85-73.

The Huskies did not see much success in the dying minutes of the game, only managing to cut the lead down to nine points.

Two more baskets made at the line by senior guard Greedy Williams sealed the deal for the Seahawks and gave them a 87-78 victory. 

The matchup against Towson opened with a layup from Fritz assisted by Frankel. A traveling violation by Towson gave Northeastern possession, but freshman forward Ty Francis’ attempt missed the basket. 

Fritz stole possession and sent the Huskies on the run, capped by a Francis finish to make the score 4-0. The Tigers responded by scoring their opening points with a second chance shot after their first attempt bounced off the rim.

After a collision forced Fritz out of the game, freshman center Petar Pinter replaced him and netted with his first involvement to put the game at 6-2 two and a half minutes in. 

Junior guard William Kermoury scored a layup from the far side and completed a three-point play after a foul by the Tigers put the Huskies up 9-2. He then scored a layup in quick succession off a Tigers turnover. 

The game resumed after a timeout, with the Tigers pressing but lacking critical finish. A Husky traveling violation gave the Tigers back the ball, but junior guard and forward Tyler Tejeda committed an offensive foul, so his basket did not count. The score was still 11-2 after four minutes played. 

The Huskies waded through Towson’s defense, and junior guard Mike Loughnane passed to Frankel for the first 3-pointer of the game. Towson scored off the glass by redshirt junior guard Dylan Williamson as the Tigers inched closer to the Huskies. 

Towson netted again and won a foul but couldn’t complete the three-point play. The gap was only three points with 12 and a half minutes to go.  

Williamson scored with a driving layup that brought the Tigers within a point of the Huskies at 14-13. The Tigers were on the hunt again, but the Huskies were alert at the net and thwarted the attempt before a media timeout. 

The game resumed with Kermoury sinking a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a short-lived reprieve, but the Tigers sank their own 3-pointer 30 seconds later. 

Towson grabbed a rebound off the Huskies’ missed 3-pointer and applied pressure but ceded possession on a shot clock violation. 

Sophomore guard Luca Soroa Schaller scored a layup in the paint of a Tiger turnover. The Tigers were immediately active at the other end, scoring to keep in touching distance of Northeastern, 19-18.

As the game resumed, Tejada broke the scoring deadlock with a layup, giving the Tigers the lead for the first time with only seven minutes left in the first half, 20-19.

Redshirt senior forward Tyler Coleman got the rebound off Tejada’s missed free throw to extend the Tigers’ lead with a tip-in layup. Kermoury then sank a three to close the gap to two points, 24-22. The Tigers added a jumper as the game reached a frantic pace.  Loughnane then scored a 3-pointer to bring the gap to one point. 

The Tigers were unrelenting, scoring a layup to put the gap back at five points. They added a 3-pointer to hit 40 points with a minute and a half left in the first half. 

Towson’s seventh foul sent Pinter to the line on the bonus, but he missed both. The whistle blew with the Tigers ahead 42-32 at the half.

The second half started with a Tejada three-point play to extend the lead to 13 points. The Huskies made good on their possession with a layup from Pintar. With the score 47-34, Kermoury sank a three to bring the gap down to 10 points with just under 19 minutes to play.

Freshman guard Xavier Abreu stole possession and shrugged off defenders to score a layup on the fast break, bringing the game to 52-40. 

Williamson then scored a jumper in the paint before a timeout. The game returned with Kermoury sinking both from the line 54-42 with five minutes played in the second half. 

A second chance layup from sophomore guard Ryan Williams put the Huskies up, but Towson was on a scoring run that put the game at 62-44 after eight minutes. 

Kermoury added another 3-pointer as the Huskies crossed the 50 points. The Huskies played with more conviction, and Williams breezed past the Tigers to score a layup. 66-55 with nine and a half minutes left. 

Williams then added another layup after some swift passing from Kermoury as the Huskies sought to close the gap. A Husky foul sent Ndefo back to the line to score one and bring the game to 71-55 with seven and a half minutes left. 

A Tigers foul on Williams’ shot sent him to the line, sinking both for the Huskies’ first points in over two minutes of play. Frankel was swift in action with a 3-pointer to take the Huskies over 60 points.

A flagrant foul by sophomore forward Caleb Embeya sent Frankel to the line, scoring three at 76-64 with five minutes left. Tejada added another to the Tigers with a three pointer from the near side to take the gap to 15 points. 

The Huskies went on the fast break before the Tigers committed a foul, which sent Pinter to the line, sinking both. The score was 79-73 with two minutes left on the clock. 

A Northeastern foul saw Towson to the line, making both. The score was 87-78 with 46 seconds left. Another Husky foul sent the Tigers back to the line, but they failed to convert. The Tigers gained possession after a long ball, running  down the clock and ending the game at 87-78.

Despite the loss, head coach Bill Coen said he was “proud of our effort … under really difficult circumstances the team continues to battle, play hard and play together.”

Northeastern men’s basketball will be back in action Jan. 15 at the Cabot Center, taking on the Elon University Phoenix (11-6, 3-1 CAA).