Box score

Northeastern, down 13 points with less than five minutes to play, staged a furious rally to get within one possession of Providence, but the Friars escaped with a 76-72 victory over the Huskies Tuesday in front of 2,622 fans at Matthews Arena. Matt Janning led the Huskies with 18 points, and Nkem Ojougboh posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Providence shot an impressive 56.4 percent from the field to come away with the victory.

"Both teams played extremely hard," said Northeastern head coach Bill Coen. "The difference in the game was that Providence really made some big plays when they needed to, whether it was make shots at the end of shot clocks or at the end of the half or grabbing the critical rebound at just the right time. So they stepped up and made plays. Unfortunately tonight we didn't."

Providence took an early 6-4 lead before Manny Adako would help the Huskies go on a 6-0 run to take a 10-6 lead connecting on six of his 10 first half points. Providence's Marshon Brooks hit a three at 14:05 to spark an 11-0 run for the Friars to take a 17-10 lead.

A jumper from Adako with the score at 18-12 would cut the lead to four points at 11:20, but it was the closest Northeastern would get in the first half as Providence, paced by Brooks' 13 first half points on 5-of-7 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 beyond the arc, stretched the Friars lead to as much as 13.

The Friars held Northeastern without a field goal for 6:14 until Matt Janning layed in a bucket with 11 seconds remaining to cut the lead to single digits. Providence immediately responded when Sharaud Curry hit a three with four ticks on the clock to give the Friars a 40-29 lead at the half.

PC shot 51.5 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three in the first while holding the Huskies to 39.3. Janning had 10 points in the first half for the Huskies while Nkem Ojougboh added four points and seven rebounds.

Chaisson Allen's jumper 1:56 into the second half brought the Huskies to within nine at 44-35. The teams traded baskets until two steals from Allen and Janning led to consecutive baskets to cut the lead to seven, prompting Providence to take a timeout.

With Providence leading 52-43, Alwayne Bigby hit a three for Northeastern at 13:11 cut lead to six points. Brooks once again killed momentum hitting a three 41 seconds later to give the Friars another nine-point edge. Providence would keep Northeastern within nine and would take a 13 point lead off a Bilal Dixon jumper with 6:49 remaining.

The Huskies swung the momentum their way when Baptiste Bataille hit a three-pointer, sparking a 9-0 run as Allen poured in two baskets in 36 second to put Northeastern down four. With 50 seconds remaining, Ojougboh knocked down two free throws to cut the margin to two points.

The Huskies defense held the Friars off the rim until a deadball rebound with 15.5 seconds on the game clock and one second on the shot clock. Off the inbounds play, Jamine Peterson hit a floater in the lane to give Providence a four-point advantage. Northeastern missed a lay up with nine seconds remaining as the Friars hung on to win the game.

Adako ended with 14 points while Allen added 13 for Northeastern.

Curry led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 70 percent from the floor. Peterson added 18 for the Friars while Dixon and Vincent Council had 11 and Marshon Brooks added 10.

The Huskies open conference play Saturday at Drexel at 4 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet New England.