Box Score  |  Season Stats  |  Press Conference  |  Infographic

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Despite a game-high 23 points from senior Scott Eatherton, the Northeastern men's basketball team (17-10, 9-5 CAA) came up short in a tough 66-61 setback against UNCW (15-10, 10-4 CAA) on Saturday before a crowd of 4,619 at Trask Coliseum. 

In a back-and-forth game, Northeastern led, 37-32, with 18 minutes to play, before a 12-3 UNCW run put the Seahawks up four with 11:30 remaining.

The Huskies came back to tie the game at 51-apiece at the 7:14 mark, but UNCW responded with a 10-4 push to go ahead for good.

Junior David Walker scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half and added five rebounds, four steals and a team-high five assists. Junior Zach Stahl and redshirt junior Quincy Ford chipped in seven points apiece, while senior Reggie Spencer added five points off the bench.

Northeastern out-rebounded UNCW, 33-28, but struggled at the foul line, shooting 17-for-31, including 7-for-17 in the second half.

Addison Spruill (16 points), Craig Ponder (15), Jordon Talley (14) and Freddie Jackson (10) scored in double-figures for the Seahawks, who moved into a first-place tie with William & Mary at 10-4 in the CAA standings.

The hosts came out red-hot, knocking down eight of their first 10 shots to grab an 18-10 advantage at the 11:52 mark of the first half.

Northeastern battled back and grabbed its first lead at 26-25 when redshirt junior Caleb Donnelly found Eatherton for a layup in transition with 3:19 left in the frame.

The Huskies maintained their one-point edge going into the half and scored the first four points of the second stanza to take their largest lead of the night at five, 35-30.

UNCW roared back with a 10-5 run–capped by a steal and layup by Dylan Sherwood–to go up, 44-40, at the 11:32 mark of the second half.

The Seahawks extended their lead to six at 51-45, but NU answered with a 6-0 run to even the game after a 3-pointer from Ford and free throws by Spencer and Walker.

Northeastern went nearly seven minutes between field goals down the stretch, but kept it close with a tenacious defensive effort that held UNCW to just five points over the same span.

An elbow-jumper by Walker pulled NU within one, 56-55, with 1:56 to play, but Jackson responded with a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Seahawks back up by four.

Northeastern will return home to face first-place William & Mary on Wednesday at Matthews Arena. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes
• UNCW won its third straight game against Northeastern.
• Eatherton scored 20-plus points for the second straight game.
• The Huskies fell to 6-1 this season when Eatherton scores 20-plus points.
• Eatherton notched his 24th career 20-plus-point game.
• Walker scored in double-figures for the fourth straight game.
• NU out-rebounded its opponent for the 19th time in 27 games.

For complete coverage of Northeastern men's basketball, follow us on Facebook (GoNUmbasketball) and Twitter (@GoNUmbasketball). Check out exclusive live and on-demand videos at GoNU.com/xstream and behind-the-scenes content on Instagram (GoNUathletics). For tickets, visit GoNU.com/tickets or call (617) 373-4700.

Tweets by @GoNUmbasketball .