With fifteen seconds on the clock, sophomore guard Tyson Walker drove to the hoop in hopes of scoring a game-winning basket. He missed.

Redshirt sophomore Chris Doherty, however, was on the other side of the hoop waiting for the ball to come to him. He tipped it in to win the game 68-66 and the Northeastern Huskies (7-5, 6-0 CAA) finished off the weekend with a road sweep of the College of Charleston Cougars (7-6, 3-3 CAA).

“[The winning effort] was getting stops at the end and then I thought Chris made an incredible tip-in…to earn an incredible victory here in Charleston,” said head coach Bill Coen. 

The Huskies got off to a hot start on both ends of the floor, going on an 11-4 run to open the game. Walker scored six points in the first five minutes while also collecting a steal and finishing at the other end for an easy two.

Defense was the Huskies’ bread and butter in the first half, holding Charleston to just 20 points on 28.7% shooting from the field and 11.1% from three-point range. At the half NU had built a 34-20 lead and were on their way to an easy victory.

Charleston responded, however, and turned the game completely on its head. They outscored the Huskies 27-8 in the first nine minutes of the second half and led by seven, getting into the paint and finishing at the rim, but also knocking down four threes during the stretch. 

“We played a really, really inspiring first half,” Coen said. “We knew College of Charleston — there’s a tremendous amount of pride in this program and they were gonna come out and make a run, and so they did. And we tried timeouts, substitutions and everything. [We] couldn’t really get it under control for the longest time.”

Both teams then traded baskets up until the five minute mark and Charleston led 63-57. A late 7-0 Husky run gave NU a one-point lead with just under three minutes to play, but with a minute remaining, the score was tied at 66-66 and the Huskies had again completed another comeback.

“Runs are gonna happen,” Coen said. “What’s travelled with us has been our defense, and guys have really bought into that, and it allows us to stay in the game. If you’re missing shots and you’re playing loose on defense the game can kind of get away from you, but this group, they’ve maintained their defensive intensity.” 

As the clock winded down, Walker missed his layup and gave Doherty the chance to tip in the game-winning bucket as the Huskies continued their perfect CAA run. 

“This group has shown time and time again the type of resiliency that you love to see as a coach,” Coen said. “They just never give up, they never stop believing in themselves and their teammates — they’re just a really fun group to coach.”

While Doherty was the hero of the game, there were multiple contributors to the Husky effort, including redshirt junior Shaquille Walters. He finished with 15 points and eight rebounds this game. Walters also came up big shot after big shot in the second half, scoring 13 of his total after the break and shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. 

“When you talk about Shaq [Walters], he doesn’t get enough credit for where we’re at,” Coen said. “He’s made big, big shots, he always guards the opponent’s best player and his intensity and competitiveness is just igniting the younger guys.”

Freshman forward Jahmyl Telfort also had an impressive outing, coming off the bench to score 16 points. Late in the game, he fueled the 7-0 run that gave the Huskies a one-point lead with a layup and a dunk during that stretch. 

“[Telfort’s] one of the best two-way freshmen that I’ve seen come through this program,” Coen said. “He made a big play at the end of the game for us and he’s done it all year long.” 

Walker was the only other Husky to finish in double-digits with 10 points, but also added to his CAA-high assist total with six more against Charleston. He got NU going early with eight points in the first five minutes and played more of a distributor role as the game progressed.

“They were physically handling Tyson a little bit and kind of got him off his game,” Coen said. 

With this win, the Huskies are now 6-0 in CAA play, having completed an impressive sweep of three different teams. They have now had comebacks in all three conference road games they have played, one being against Hofstra and the others this weekend against Charleston.

NU will have the week off before returning to Boston next weekend for a couple of matchups with James Madison University (6-4, 1-0 CAA) Saturday and Sunday at noon.