WILMINGTON, N.C. – Trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the Northeastern men's basketball team (6-14, 0-9) never backed down against UNCW (13-5, 7-0), battling back to cut it to one possession 3:41 left, but the Seahawks were able to escape with the 67-62 victory on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
Jahmyl Telfort had a team-high 20 points for the Huskies, who dominated the glass with a 35-17 effort and 10-4 edge on the offensive end of the floor. Telfort was joined in double figures by Nikola Djogo with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds and Coleman Stucke (10 points) for a Northeastern team that shot 50% from the floor and 6-of-15 from three.
 
For the second straight game, turnovers were the difference as UNCW forced the Huskies into 20 turnovers, turning it into 25 points. The Seahawks were led by 20 points from Jaylen Sims, one of three players in double figures for UNCW. UNCW went 27-of-53 (51%) and 6-of-15 from deep on the night.
 
• UNCW led by as many as 11 in a first half that saw the Seahawks shoot 50% from the field and 40% from three, but a late Northeastern run to close the half trimmed the deficit down to five at the break, 34-29.
 
• Jaylen Fornes led the way for the Seahawks in the opening 20 minutes, going 4-of-8 for nine points to lead the hosts, while Djogo matched it at the other end with nine points of his own (3-of-4 overall).
 
• The Huskies stayed in it with a dominating effort on the glass, outrebounding UNCW 19-7 in the first half, led by four from both Shaquille Walters and Alexander Nwagha, as NU recovered from 12 first half turnovers with a 6-0 run to end the half.
 
• It was a back and forth second half, with the Seahawks using a 10-0 run over a three-minute stretch to open up its largest lead of the night at 50-37 with 14:56 left.
 
• NU continued to fight, though, and went on an 11-2 run to bring it down to a three-point game at 58-55 with less than four minutes to play. That's as close as Northeastern would get, however, as a jumper from Sims and a three from Fornes put the hosts back up by three possessions late.
 
The Huskies will stay out on the road and head to College of Charleston for a 4 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon on FloHoops.