The Northeastern men’s basketball team (10-7, 2-2 CAA) split their two conference games on the road Jan. 9 and 11, losing to the Towson University Tigers (8-9, 3-1 CAA) 73-80 and decisively winning against the Stony Brook University Seawolves (4-13, 0-4 CAA) 70-66.
The Huskies clung onto the Tigers on the court Jan. 9 but were unable to topple Towson’s lead late in the second half.
Junior guard LA Pratt notched the game-high in points at 22, but the Huskies failed to keep the scoreboard in their favor.
The game managed to stay even throughout the majority of the first half, with the Huskies sneaking away with four minutes left, ending the half with 37-30 on the scoreboard.
The Huskies and Tigers continued to battle it out in the second half, with the game tied at 62 with seven minutes left.
After a dunk by Towson’s sophomore guard Mekhi Lowery and a layup by redshirt senior guard Nendah Tarke, the Tigers slipped away to 65-70 with four minutes left in the game.
Northeastern hustled to regain its lead by taking advantage of Towson’s fouls, but it wasn’t enough as the Huskies struggled to keep Towson out of the paint, resulting in a 73-80 loss on Townson’s home court in Maryland.
The Huskies decided they weren’t going to have two consecutive losses Jan. 11 when the ball tipped off on Long Island.
The Huskies dominated the first half, finishing with a score of 39-26, scoring on all four free-throws and notching 14 of their 26 field goal attempts.
Junior guard Harold Woods dominated in rebounds, collecting eight — the most of the game. However, as a unit, the Seawolves managed to out-rebound the Huskies 30 to 34.
Stony Brook had seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game, which was consistent throughout the first half. Northeastern took advantage of this, scoring 21 on turnovers alone.
In the second half, the Seawolves got hungry and tied the game at 50 apiece with eight minutes left in the game. Two layups and a foul throw put Stony Brook ahead, but Northeastern wasn’t giving up.
Sophomore guard JB Frankel notched a three-pointer and junior guard Masai Troutman grabbed a layup off a fast break, helping the Huskies tie the game at 57. Troutman earned his career high in points and free throws at 22 and 14, respectively.
Northeastern started to pull away, and with 30 seconds left on the clock, the Huskies got themselves some breathing room with the score in their favor at 66-60.
Stony Brook tried to recreate its comeback from earlier in the half, with junior guard Nick Woodard and senior guard Andre Snoddy both grabbing three pointers, but Northeastern held on, drawing fouls and keeping the Seawolves out of the paint.
It worked, as Northeastern was able to bounce back with a win 70-66 despite its brief loss on the lead.
The Huskies are back on the road to take on University of North Carolina Wilmington (12-5, 2-2 CAA) at 7 p.m. Jan. 16.
