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BOSTON – In a game that came down to the final possession, Shawn Occeus connected from deep as time expired, but the Northeastern men's basketball team fell by one, 71-70, to Hofstra Tuesday night in their first loss at Matthews Arena this season.
 
Northeastern led by as much as 12 in the first half, but Hofstra battled back into the game and barely headed into halftime with a 41-40 lead after an Occeus layup was called back as time expired.
 
Both teams netted just 30-points each in the second half as Hofstra (8-6, 1-1 CAA) did just enough to earn its first CAA victory of the year and fifth-straight win over Northeastern (8-6, 1-1).
 
The Pride were led by Justin Wright-Foreman who finished with 27 points, 17 of those coming in the first half. Rokas Gustys finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Eli Pemberton added 13.
 
Occeus led the Huskies with 20 points on the night, his second consecutive 20-point effort. He also notched a career-high tying five steals, three assists and three rebounds. Jeremy Miller had his first double-digit effort of the season with 12 points, while adding five rebounds.
 
Both Vasa Pusica and Bolden Brace had nine points on the night. Pusica was hampered by a hand injury he suffered in the first four minutes, though he was able to dish out five assists on the night. Brace added a team-leading six rebounds and four helpers along with a block and a steal.  
 
FIRST HALF
After a Gresham steal, Pusica got things going with a three, followed by an Anthony Green basket for a 5-0 lead. Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich did not like what he saw and called a timeout 1:46 into the game.
 
Miller checked in and Brace immediately found him in the paint for the lay-in. On the next possession a bounce pass from Donnell Gresham ended up with the same result. After a Brace offensive board, an Occeus three gave the Huskies a six-point lead and Brace added a three of his own to double the Hofstra score, 18-9.
 
The Pride went on an 11-0 run over a 3:06 span that forced Northeastern head coach Bill Coen to call a timeout with 7:22 left in the first half. The Huskies went 0-for-5 from the field during that span as Hofstra made it a one-point game, 23-22.
 
Gresham ended the run with a three that resulted in him splayed out on the floor as he threw up a shot with time expiring that hit nothing but the net. Occeus added a couple of free throws on the next possession to make it a six-point game.
 
But a couple of possessions later, Hofstra was able to tie things up thanks to an Eli Pemberton three to make it 30-all with just over four minutes to play as the Pride would go on to make it a 41-40 game at the half.
 
SECOND HALF
Northeastern started the second half on a 6-0 run capped by an Occeus fastbreak that forced Mihalich into calling a timeout with the Huskies up 46-41.
 
After Hofstra cut the lead to one with back-to-back Wright-Foreman baskets, the Huskies were able to make it a four-point game before a 7-0 Hofstra run turned that into 58-55 ball game, in favor of the Pride. The run was ended by a Tomas Murphy three from the top of the key to even the score at 58.
 
Occeus later added a three but the Pride responded with back-to-back buckets to regain a 64-63 lead. Gustys then got free in the paint to give Hofstra a 66-63 lead as Coen used another timeout.
 
A tip-in by Miller made it a one-point game, but the Huskies were unable to get any closer. Northeastern missed three 3FGs to try and tie things up in the final 90 seconds, and after having to foul three times in a row to just get the Pride to the line, with .5 seconds left on the clock, Brace was able to throw a rocket of a pass down the court to set up Occeus' three, but with the Pride up four points, it just wasn't enough.
 
UP NEXT
The Huskies will continue their play at Matthews Arena against Elon on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. and concluding on Sunday, Jan. 7, once again against the Dukes. Friday and Sunday's game are the CBS Sports Digital Game of the Week and can be found on CBSSportsLive.com.