Box Score  |  Bill Coen Press Conference

Paced by 20 points from senior guard Chaisson Allen, Northeastern survived a late rally to escape UNC Wilmington with a 70-66 win in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action on Wednesday night in Wilmington, N.C. Sophomore guard Jonathan Lee scored 17 points, including six clutch free throws to close out the game.

The Huskies (6-15, 2-8 CAA) led by as many as 14 early in the second half, but the Seahawks (10-11, 4-6) came back to tie the game with just under two minutes to play. From there, Lee went 6-of-6 from the line to put the game away and deliver back-to-back wins for Northeastern.

Allen stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Huskies. Sophomore guard Joel Smith also hit double figures with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Chad Tomko led the Seahawks with 23 points, four rebounds and six assists, while classmate Ahmad Grant added 13 points and sophomore guard Keith Rendleman chipped in 10 points.

Smith knocked down a three for the Huskies to open the scoring and after Northeastern took a 5-2 lead, the Seahawks came back and took a 7-5 lead on a Tomko three-pointer. Allen and Tomko then traded threes before Allen hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 10-10.

Rendleman then made a layup under the basket to put the Seahawks on top. Smith answered with a three, but Grant followed with a layup to give UNC Wilmington the 14-13 lead.

After a pair of Seahawk free throws, Smith tied the game with a three to kick off a string of seven unanswered points that put the Huskies up, 20-16, with 11:17 to go in the first half.

After a Trevor Deloach three-pointer got the Seahawks back within one, the Huskies took off on a 14-3 run, getting their next four baskets on three-pointers from Allen, Lee, freshman guard Alex Harris and Allen again before sophomore Dinko Marshavelski's short-range jumper but the Huskies up, 34-22, with 4:55 left in the first half.

UNC Wilmington cut the Northeastern lead to nine at the break and the Huskies took a 36-27 halftime lead.

Freshman Ryan Pierson scored the first five points of the second half to put the Huskies up by 14.

UNC Wilmington struggled to get back in the game and faced an 11-point deficit after Allen was fouled beyond the arc and hit all three free throws with 5:38 to go, but from there the Seahawks reeled off a 13-2 run to tie the game at 64-64 when Tomko hit a pair of free throws with 1:56 to go.

From there, Lee was fouled on consecutive possessions and hit all four free throws to give the Huskies a 68-64 lead with 1:28 to go. Tomko drove to the hoop for an uncontested layup to get the Seahawks back within two with 19 seconds to go, but Lee hit two more free throws and Tomko missed a last-gasp effort for UNC Wilmington.

The Huskies shot 52.4 percent (22-of-42) from the floor and 45 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc and were a season-best 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the free throw line. The Seahawks were held to 41.7 percent (20-of-48) shooting from the floor. The Huskies held a 28-24 advantage on the glass.

The Huskies are back in action on Saturday, hosting Georgia State for a CAA matchup at 1 p.m. at Matthews Arena. Saturday's game is part of the nationwide Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers weekend, in which coaches nationwide will wear sneakers on the sideline to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society. Saturday's game will air live on GoNU.tv and HuskyCable Channel 81.