November 24, 2025 by Nicholas Humowitz (‘27)
November 15 proved a very emotional game for Northeastern University students, fans and alumni; The University of Vermont’s basketball team pulled away in the second half, fueling a 15-0 run defeat to the Northeastern Huskies 85-74.
This game marks the last time Northeastern basketball will ever play at Matthews Arena in Boston. From now on, the Huskies will play all their home games at the Cabot Center.
Matthews Arena, originally named the Boston Arena, was first opened in 1910, becoming the oldest active Division 1 arena in the country and the World’s oldest multi-purpose athletic building and has the world’s oldest artificial ice sheet. It was the first home of NHL team the Boston Bruins in 1924 and the first home for the NBA Boston Celtics in 1946. Notable names have played there, helping shape the program like JJ Barea and Reggie. Both were honored in a pregame ceremony and at halftime during November 15’s game.Next month, Matthews Arena will be torn down due to increasing structural issues and will be replaced with a state-of-the-art facility set to open in the 2028-2029 Season.
Coming into this game, Vermont was 3-0 just coming off an overtime victory over Brown University, where TJ Long had an astonishing 40 points going 13-26 from the field. Northeastern was 2-1 and had just beat Harvard University on the road 77-66 with help of Xander Alarie scoring 23 points leading the way for the Huskies.
The game started with Northeastern taking an early lead of 19-11 thanks to their defensive presence. By putting pressure on the Catamounts, the team was able to get steals and easy baskets to add onto their lead. During a timeout break, the Catamounts adjusted to Northeastern pressure and started to slow the game down, cutting the score to 23-21 with 5 minutes remaining in the first half. It remained a back-and-forth game as Vermont called a timeout with 25 seconds left in the half. When they inbounded the ball, William Kermoury stole it and scored an easy layup as time expired. This made the score 33-30 going into halftime, which gave the Huskies more momentum for the second half. Northeastern was shooting 50 percent from the field and were in full control of the ball, disrupting Vermont and making them frustrated on offense. JB Frankel played a key role in the Huskies’ success in this dynamic, scoring 7 points.
Northeastern maintained their dominance for the first 5 minutes of the second half, winning 45-37, until Gus Yalden started to catch fire, scoring 8 points in a row for the Catamounts, trimming the Northeastern lead to 47-46. Yalden’s fierce scoring was not just giving Vermont a lead, but also forced help defenders to collapse on him, creating opportunities for his teammates. Sean Blake got off to a hot start, getting to the rim with ease and hitting a three pointer to put the Catamounts up 51-47, igniting a 15-0 run.
All of a sudden, the Huskies could not hit a shot anymore, and it seemed like they couldn’t get a stop on the defensive end, making it hard for them to get anything started on the offensive end. With five minutes left in the game, they found themselves down 66-54 after dominating the game all throughout the first half. They fell short in the end, losing 85-74 in their last game ever at Matthews Arena.
However, Yalden’s first ever game as a Catamount came off the bench and scored 18 points. Sean Blake followed suit, scoring an efficient 16 points in the victory. For Northeastern, Youri Fritz scored 17 points and added 7 rebounds in the loss.
Vermont is now 4-1 after playing November 18, as they lost 94-90 to Buffalo. They are set to a 4-0 Liberty team today, November 24, looking for a bounce-back win.
Northeastern got off to a mediocre 3-3 start after losing 70-57 to Princeton on November 20 but beat a 4-1 Duquesne team two days later on November 22. They look to get back on track against a 4-2 Wake Forest team later this month.