After a 67-64 loss to the University of Hartford on the road Jan. 3, Suffolk University men’s basketball was looking for a little revenge when they played the Hawks on home court Feb. 3.
That’s exactly what they got.
Behind a few key threes from Hatcher Nordquist and double figures in points from four of Suffolk’s five starters, the Rams outlasted the Hawks 70-68 in a back-and-forth tilt on the Smith Court.
Suffolk improved to 5-1 all-time against the Hawks with the win and 12-9 on the season, which includes a Conference of New England record of 8-4. If the regular season ended today, the Rams would host a first round playoff game.
Head coach Jeff Juron said the game was a battle of the defenses but was pleased with how the team was able to execute at the right times and get a win.
“The biggest challenge tonight was finding good shots,” said Juron. “This was not a good offensive game for us, this was not a pretty game on either side. We felt like it was going to be a defensive trench war and that we had to win a street fight, and that’s what we did.”
The game started with both teams trading offensive runs, as Hartford went on a 10-0 run early in the first half before the Rams countered with a 11-3 run to take a three-point lead. A 13-4 run gave Suffolk a 31-22 lead with 2:16 to go in the half before entering the locker room with a 33-28 lead.
After Hartford went on a 6-0 run out of the break, Suffolk quickly responded thanks to a few quick buckets from Greg Keane and a three from James Jones to take a 51-42 lead.
Hartford had a quick run to cut the deficit to six, but that’s when Nordquist showed up.
Of Nordquist’s 14 points, eight came in the second half. Six of the eight came on back-to-back threes, including one right in the face of a Hartford defender, to pad the Suffolk lead to 61-49 with 5:42 left on the clock. That would be the largest lead they had all game.
Verdile had a simple answer about Nordquist’s value to the team:
“He’s him!”
Nordquist quickly deflected the credit to his teammates for his burst in the second half.
“[My] teammates got me the ball in the right spots,” said Nordquist. “If not for them, we don’t win that game. Big shoutout to the teammates, coaching staff made great adjustments at halftime. That’s how we finished it out with a W.”
Juron credited Nordquist’s confidence for his success, especially coming in as a freshman and playing starting minutes right away.
“He’s been great. He’s played with a ton of confidence,” said Juron. “We really need what he provides. He’s very aggressive offensively and he really makes our offense go.”
On the back of Joshua Petion, the Hawks wouldn’t let the Rams coast to a win, as a quick surge by Petion cut the deficit to three with 47 seconds to go. Despite a few more Hartford points on jump shots, Suffolk forced the Hawks to foul and put them at the line, where they made the necessary free throws to pick up the close win.
Nordquist, Verdile, Jones and Keane were all in double figures for points for the Rams. Verdile had 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, while Jones and Nordquist each chipped in 14 points to Keane’s 13.
Keane, who entered the game ranking fifth in Division III in average blocks per game with 3.15, added four more to his total to go with five assists and his 13 points.
Juron emphasized the defensive growth that Keane has displayed this season, becoming more than just a shot-blocker down low.
“We’ve talked about not just becoming a one-trick pony with the shot blocking, but becoming an all-around defensive player and we saw a lot of that tonight,” said Juron. “He’s guarding not just two and three feet away from the basket, but out around the perimeter, blocking three-point shots and switching on to guards sometimes. He can do everything defensively and he’s scoring a lot more on the offensive end too.”
With four games remaining in the regular season, every game is of the utmost importance to the Rams in a battle for playoff seeding. With two of those games against teams right next to Suffolk in the standings, all four games have the feeling of a must-win as the season enters the stretch run.
Juron and Nordquist emphasized the importance of taking things step-by-step and not looking too far ahead.
“We’re attacking it one game at a time. All 16 guys [here], we’re gonna get it done,” said Nordquist.
Suffolk looks to win two games in a row as they head to Dudley, Massachusetts for a showdown with Nichols College Feb. 7. The Bison stand at 12-9 overall and 7-5 in CNE play, one spot behind the Rams in the CNE standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
