William Kermoury, JB Frankel and Mike Loughnane huddle for a game plan Dec. 7. The Huskies fell to Syracuse and Rhode Island Dec. 20 and 22, respectively.

The Northeastern men’s basketball team (4-7, 0-0 CAA) lost to the Syracuse Orange (9-4, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 91-83 Dec. 20 before losing to the Rhode Island Rams (9-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) 85-77 Dec. 22.

The Huskies started out strong against the Orange, taking a five-point lead in the opening eight minutes, but the Orange was swift to respond, tying the game at 14 points a piece inside a minute and a half.

This spurred the Orange on, and it went on a staggering 17-4 run over six minutes to create an 11-point gap at 29-11 with six more minutes to go. The Huskies then fought back, with senior forward Youri Fritz scoring five points to bring the gap to six. Syracuse was up to the task and ended the first half with a ten-point lead over Northeastern at 41-31.

Syracuse was able to extend its lead to 15 points in the second half, but sophomore guard Ryan Williams put up 16 of his 20 points to help the Huskies stay close.

Ultimately, Syracuse won the game at the free throw line, with its last 12 points coming off Northeastern fouls.

Despite the loss, the Huskies were sharper at the three-point line, shooting 35% to the Orange’s 25%. Additionally, three Huskies were in double figures: Williams had Northeastern’s high in points at 20. Fritz scored 17 points, and redshirt freshman forward Xander Alarie achieved a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Huskies then traveled to Rhode Island to face the Rams.

Northeastern opened the game with an 8-4 run to take the lead, but the Rams quickly fought back and gained a lead they would not give up.

The game was back and forth, with the lead staying single digit until the last two minutes of the first half, when the Rams were able to edge it past the 10-point mark. Free throws from freshman guard Miles Newton and junior guard William Kermoury and a layup from Fritz helped the Huskies to end the half just nine points down at 48-39.

The second half was a stronger showing for Northeastern as the gap got down to three points, but the Rams maintained their edge.

The Huskies were again superior at the three-point line, scoring 48% of their attempts to the Rams’ 36%. Additionally, the Huskies were sharper at the free-throw line, scoring 76% compared to Rhode Island’s 69%.

Rhode Island’s bench was the deciding factor in the victory, scoring 57 points of its 85 points.

Williams equaled his career-high 21 points, Alarie scored 12 points and recorded eight rebounds and junior guard Mike Loughnane scored 11 points.

This was the Huskies’ final game before the league fixtures kick off Dec. 29 against the Elon University Phoenix (8-5, 0-0 CAA) at the Schar Center at 7 p.m.

About the Contributors

Olufolake Okunsanya is a fourth year Business major concentrating in finance with a minor in sports media and communications. She is a staff member of The News’ section where she serves as the beat writer for the men’s basketball team. A passionate Formula One fan, she also writes the column Chequered Flag. You can follow her on X @Folake_Okuns.