By: Justin Littman
The Northeastern Huskies seem to have found an affinity for winning games late in dramatic fashion. It was no different on Saturday as the Huskies (17-14, 9-9 CAA) showed plenty of heart and fought back from an 11-point second half deficit on the road to escape Drexel with a two-point win. It was yet another nail biter for a veteran team which has shown plenty of grit over the past few weeks.
Northeastern ripped off a 15-0 run late in the second half to overcome a double-digit deficit. All four seniors, along with T.J. Williams, were on the court during the comeback. The rally was capped off by David Walker, who made 3 threes in the final few minutes. Walker finished the game with 20 points.
“Down the end of the stretch you’re subbing a little bit on strategy but also on emotion” Coach Coen remarked after the game. “It means a lot to everybody but it means the most to your senior class, and I thought that senior class played really well today.”
On Senior Day for Drexel, it was senior guard Tavon Allen who looked to make the most of the festivities. Allen was blistering hot in the first half in which he scored 23 of his 27 total points to push the Dragons out to a seven-point halftime lead. Rodney Williams, who scored 23 points when these two teams met in Boston two weeks ago, was held to just two points in 31 minutes of play.
With 29 seconds remaining, Caleb Donnelly found Zach Stahl for an open layup on a back door cut towards the rim to give the Huskies a 61-59 lead. Drexel had one last opportunity to win, but a Tavon Allen three from the right wing was off the mark as time expired.
“He got a good look”, Coen commented. “We were very fortunate to get a win today.”
With the win, Northeastern locks up 6th place in the CAA standings. They avoid a first round play-in game on Friday. The Huskies will square off against the third seeded Towson Tigers in the CAA tournament quarterfinals next Saturday at 6 pm. The two teams were 1-1 against each other in the regular season with each win coming on the road.