By: Kyle Williams
In hindsight, it probably couldn’t have gone down any other way. A classic CAA rock fight ended with the Huskies victorious on senior night, as they came back to beat College of Charleston by a score of 58-57. It was a fitting end for seniors David Walker, Quincy Ford, Zach Stahl, and Caleb Donnelly, as this game was reminiscent of many close, ugly games over the course of their careers.
Down one, Quincy Ford hit a pair of clutch free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining to put Northeastern up for good, giving Ford, David Walker, Zach Stahl, and Caleb Donnelly a win in their last game in Matthews arena. Ford finished with a 13 and 9, and Donnelly chipped in 12 points as Northeastern overcame a stifling Charleston defense. Zach Stahl scored 15 points to pass 1,000 for his career; he is the third active Husky to achieve that milestone, along with Ford and Walker. TJ Williams provided a spark off the bench, contributing 4 points to go along with 6 assists, continuously driving to the hoop for easy layups and open looks for his teammates. Jarrell Brantley finished with a double – doubled (15 and 10) to lead the Cougars.
Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net early, as they combined to shoot under 30% from the floor. Northeastern led for most of the first half, taking a 23-19 lead into the locker room. Things picked up in the second half, as both teams shot over 50%, as the game saw 12 lead changes and 7 ties. Up 56-55 with under a minute to go, Williams drew a foul, but couldn’t hit the front end of the 1 and 1. That led to a Cameron Johnson jumper that put Charleston ahead 57-56. Northeastern inbounded the ball with 18.7 seconds left, with Ford driving inside and drawing the blocking foul on Evan Bailey.
With the win, NU goes to 16-14 overall and 8-9 in conference; Charleston drops to 8-9 in conference and 16-12 overall. The teams are tied in record for the sixth seed in the CAA, the last spot to avoid playing an extra game in the CAA tournament. Both teams end their season on Saturday as the Huskies travel to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons, while Charleston heads to Long Island to face the Hofstra Pride.