By Andrew Parente, News Staff

Husky fans who struggle with keeping their nerves in check are going to have a tough time watching the men’s basketball team this year.
In five contests this year, each one has come down to the game’s last few possessions and hasn’t been decided by more than six points.
The team came away with a 70-67 win Saturday afternoon over Wright State after junior guard Chaisson Allen hit an improbable buzzer-beater from half court. (WATCH’ HERE)
‘Once I got the rebound, I didn’t know how much time was on the clock,’ Allen said. ‘I checked the clock and saw that there was two seconds left and I could get one or two dribbles in. Once I released it and saw it in the air, I felt like it had a chance. Then it dropped.’
Allen led all scorers in the game with a season-high 21 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds.
Wright State held an early 14-point advantage before the Huskies were able to get back into it.
‘We had a real difficult time getting the ball inside in the first half, when we did, we scored, but we just couldn’t get it there,’ said head coach Bill Coen. ‘Second half, we picked up the tempo, got some critical turnovers which really got us going.’
Strong play off the bench by senior guard Baptiste Bataille, who chipped in 14 points including three-of-three from 3-point territory, also helped.
‘Baptiste is the ultimate team player,’ Coen said. ‘You can ask him to guard a center and he’ll do it. That’s what makes him special. He’s going to fight; he’s going to make plays and always will do whatever it takes to help the team.’
Senior captain and guard Matt Janning and senior forward Manny Adako were also in double-figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Three days earlier, the Huskies dropped a tough game at cross-town rival Boston University in a 69-64 overtime affair.
After Janning converted on four straight points with less than four minutes to play, the Huskies led 53-47. But the Terriers chipped away and were able to force overtime and eventually win.
‘Today’s game was hard-fought by both teams,’ Coen said. ‘The difference in the game was that BU made plays when they had to.’
Freshman guard Alwayne Bibgy made his first collegiate start in the game and contributed 16 points and seven rebounds.
Janning led NU scoring with 18 points.
Tuesday night, the Huskies welcomed Providence to Matthews Arena. The Friars were the first Big East squad to play at Northeastern since Boston College did in 1985.
Both teams battled hard, but Providence was able to come away with a 76-72 decision.
‘I thought the difference in the game was Providence made some big plays when they needed to,’ Coen said. ‘Whether it was making shots at the end of shot clocks, or the end of the half or grabbing the critical rebound at the right time.’
Friars guard Sharaud Curry led the attack in the first half contributing 13 points on five-of-seven shooting including a big 3-pointer as time expired, which gave his team a 40-29 lead. Adako was strong for the Huskies in the first half, with 10 points of his own on five-of-nine shooting. Janning also added 10 in the first 20 minutes.
Both offenses were on the display in the second half as the teams traded baskets for a better part of the frame which resulted in the Friars holding a 13 point advantage with under five minutes to play.
However, the Huskies did not quit and were able to get some key defensive stops and some critical baskets to get the lead down to just two with under a minute to go.
The run was sparked by a three from Bataille, followed by two straight baskets from Allen. Senior center Nkem Ojougboh then added a pair of free throws to cap the 9-0 run.
‘We finally were able to get some stops. We were waiting for an opportunity where we got two stops in a row,’ Coen said. ‘We were able to sit down and guard a little bit in the second half and that really got us back into the game.’
But Providence put the game away after forward Jamine Peterson converted on a floater in the lane off of an inbound pass with one second remaining on the shot clock.
The basket gave the Friars a four-point advantage with 15 seconds to go as they held on for the win.
Northeastern’s is now 2-3 on the season. It travesl to Philadelphia to open Colonial Athletic Association play against Drexel Saturday at 4 p.m.