Northeastern men’s basketball (6-15, 2-8 CAA) lost a close thriller to the College of Charleston Cougars (15-8, 8-2 CAA) 89-84 Jan. 31 in the Cabot Center.
Northeastern was out of the blocks fast, with junior guard William Kermoury opening the scoring with a pull-up jumper, quickly tied with a jumper in the paint for the Cougars.
Northeastern scored two quickly with a layup by sophomore guard Luca Soroa Schaller, followed by a jumper from freshman center Petar Pinter, putting the game at 6-2.
Freshman guard Chris Davis Jr. netted a 3-pointer for the Cougars to level the game at eight points. Junior guard Mike Loughnane responded with a three after some pinpoint passing by the Huskies.
The Cougars then piled on the pressure, but Loughnane scored another three to tie it back up. Soroa Schaller put the Huskies back ahead with a second-chance shot, 16-14, at 12 and a half minutes to go.
Loughnane stole the ball and capped off a solo effort with a driving layup. The Cougars were scoreless for the first three minutes until a Husky foul sent redshirt freshman guard Jaxon Prunty to the line, where he made both free throws, making the score, 20-16. The Cougars took a one point lead with a jumper before junior guard JB Frankel’s jumper returned it to the Huskies.
After a defensive rebound by Soroa Schaller, the Huskies went on the hunt, and Kermoury scored a layup on the fast break, making the game 24-21 with eight minutes to go. Kermoury netted a 3-pointer, ending a two minute scoring drought after some full-court passing by Northeastern. The game was at 29-21 with just under six minutes to go.
A dunk and a jumper by redshirt junior center Christian Reeves brought the Cougars within a point of the Huskies at 33-32. A Kermoury jumper gave the Huskies some breathing room.
Two free throws from Charleston saw the game back within a point before Kermoury dispatched a 3-pointer, taking the Huskies to 40 points. The Cougars responded with a tip-in layup right at the buzzer to close out the first half at 40-38.
The second half opened with a Loughnane layup on the fast break after Kermoury claimed the defensive rebound. A Husky foul sent Reeves to the line, where he completed a three point play, cutting the Cougars’ deficit to 46-44. The Cougars tied the game with two more free throws, but Kermoury swiftly intervened with a signature 3-pointer.
The Cougars blocked a Husky shot and then scored a layup, taking the lead for the first time in the second half, 50-49, with five minutes played.
After the lead changed hands twice, another Kermoury 3-pointer tied it at 58 points. A Loughnane 3-pointer brought the Huskies into the lead, but the Cougars clawed it back, with Reeves completing a three-point play. The score was 63-61 with just under 10 minutes to go.
Loughnane waded through the Cougars’ defense, scoring a layup to put the Huskies back on top, and Soroa Schaller added two points to push the lead to three.
The Cougars were active immediately after the game resumed from a timeout, taking an early lead, but Soroa Schaller’s 3-pointer pushed the Huskies back ahead. Freshman guard Martin Kalu scored a jumper to put the teams on level terms at 69 points.
A three-point play by graduate student guard Jlynn Counter gave the Cougars a three point lead, which Soroa Schaller closed to one point with a layup. Kermoury sank a 3-pointer to give the Huskies back a two point lead with four and a half minutes to go.
The gap was quickly eroded as redshirt sophomore center Chol Machot dunked, tying the game at 76 points.
The Cougars slid past the Huskies’ defense to score a layup and take a four point lead at 82-78 with under a minute to play. A Husky foul sent Counter to the line, sinking one as the clock wound down.
Counter returned to line twice, scoring all four free throws to put the Cougars at 87 points. Freshman guard Xavier Abreu’s three-point play took the game within two possessions with 22 seconds to go. A Northeastern foul sent Counter to the line, scoring one. An Abreu 3-pointer took the game to 88-84 with only three seconds left.
Counter was back at the line, scoring one to close the game out at 89-84.
Kermoury reached a career-high 36 points; it was the second time he scored a career high in January after his 31 point performance against Elon University Jan. 15. Loughnane also amassed a career-high 24 points.
“[Kermoury’s] a really good player … we need him to score and he knows it,” and “Mike [Loughnane] is as competitive as he can be,” said Bill Cohen, Northeastern basketball head coach.
Coen said that he’s “really proud of our effort … it’s a really good basketball team, and [the Cougars] presented us with a bunch of challenges.”
Soroa Schaller posted a double-double, scoring 13 points and claiming a career-high 15 rebounds. On his performance, Coen said, “He just keeps getting more and more confident.”
The Huskies’ next game is against Hofstra University (14-9, 5-5 CAA) at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex at 7 p.m Feb. 5.
