Box Score   |  Post-game press conference (video)

BOSTON—The Northeastern men's basketball team overturned a five-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to claim a dramatic 54-52 win over Drexel in the regular season finale, on senior day, Saturday at Matthews Arena. The victory earned the Huskies the No. 5 seed in next weekend's CAA Championship and a rematch with Drexel, the No. 4 seed.

The Huskies (10-20, 7-9 CAA) trailed 52-47 in the final minute before a 3-pointer by junior Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) cut the deficit to one with 15 seconds left. Northeastern then capitalized on two costly errors by the Dragons (16-13, 8-8 CAA) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

After Pollard's triple, NU's full-court pressure forced a Drexel turnover. The Dragons then committed a foul on a David Walker (Stow, Ohio) 3-point attempt, sending the sophomore to the line with 6.7 seconds remaining. Walker calmly stepped to the stripe and knocked down all three shots to give NU the 54-52 edge, its first lead since the 9:25 mark of the second half.

Needing a basket to tie or win, Drexel's Chris Fouch (26 points) raced down the court and hoisted a three that missed the mark at the final buzzer to send the Huskies into next week's CAA tournament on a high note.

Redshirt junior Scott Eatherton (10 points, 15 rebounds) and sophomore Zach Stahl (11 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles to pace the Huskies. Freshman T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas) added nine points and three assists, while Walker chipped in eight points, including the deciding three free throws in the waning seconds.

Fouch scored half of Drexel's 52 points on 9-of-22 shooting, including 5-for-14 from beyond the arc. Frantz Massenat contributed eight points and four assists, while Dartaye Ruffin pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Northeastern shot just 29 percent for the game (15-51), but out-rebounded Drexel by a 45-35 margin and earned 29 free-throw attempts (20-29) to the Dragons' 11 (6-11). Drexel shot 35-percent (20-57), but was held scoreless for the final 2:08 as the Huskies rallied for their third win over the Dragons in the last four meetings.

Northeastern started slow, making just one of its first six shots as Drexel raced out to a 10-2 lead at the 15-minute mark, courtesy of a pair of 3-pointers from Fouch.

The Dragons maintained their eight-point lead at 13-5 with 13:30 left in the half, before consecutive layups by Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) and Williams cut the Drexel advantage to four with just under 12 minutes left in the half.

The Huskies continued to chip away and eventually took their first lead of the frame with an 8-2 run, sparked by a layup and two free throws from Eatherton, to go up 21-20 with 4:09 showing on the clock.

Northeastern extended the run to 13-4 after a putback tip-in by Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) made it 26-22 Huskies with 1:21 remaining. The Dragons had one final answer before the halftime buzzer, however, as Fouch connected on a baseline floater with four ticks left to cut the NU lead to 26-24 at the break.

Eatherton secured his 18th double-double of the season just four minutes into the second half as NU pushed its lead to six at 34-28 at the 13:20 mark.

The Dragons then went on a 12-1 run, capped by a layup by Massenat and another trey from Fouch, to claim a 40-35 lead with 8:40 to play.

After missing its first seven 3-point attempts of the game, Northeastern finally connected on a triple when Williams drained a shot from the right wing to cut the deficit to 40-38. Fouch answered right back with a three, however, as the Dragons restored their five-point cushion at the under eight timeout.

Drexel extended its advantage to seven, 50-43, with 3:32 to play following a putback layup by Goran Pantovic.

Northeastern responded on the ensuing possession, however, when Pollard flipped a pass to Walker for a 3-pointer from the top of the key to bring the hosts within four.

The top free throw shooting team in the CAA, Drexel did itself no favors at the line in the final minutes, missing the front end of a pair of one-and-ones as Northeastern pulled within one following Pollard's triple with 15 seconds left.

The Dragons' mistakes culminated in a game-changing turnover when Tavon Allen threw an inbound pass into the backcourt with no teammates within 15 feet of the pass. Eatherton easily collected the loose ball, and after an NU timeout, Walker was fouled on a 3-point attempt from the left wing.

Northeastern sent lone senior Chris Avenant out in style with the senior day win. Avenant has appeared in 59 games over four seasons for the Huskies, including a career-high 21 appearances this year. His senior campaign has been his best on Huntington Avenue. He is shooting 44 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from 3-point range, and has tallied career-highs for points, assists, field-goals made, and 3-point field-goals made.

Next up for the Huskies is a rematch with Drexel in the 2014 CAA Championship (March 7-10) in Baltimore, Md. The fifth-seeded Huskies will face the fourth-seeded Dragons on March 8 at 2:30 p.m., at Baltimore Arena. Comcast SportsNet will carry the game live.

Game notes
> Scott Eatherton notched his 18th double-double of the season (10 points, 15 rebounds)
> Zach Stahl recorded his second double-double of the year; the sophomore had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Delaware on Jan. 18
> Northeastern defeated Drexel for the third time in the last four meetings
> Prior to the game, Northeastern honored its lone senior, Chris Avenant (Sacramento, Calif.) on senior day; Avenant has appeared in 59 games over four seasons for the Huskies
> Northeastern shot under 30 percent for the first time since Nov. 29, 2008, at South Florida and for just the sixth time under head coach Bill Coen

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