PHILADELPHIA – The Northeastern men's basketball team (1-1) erased a nine-point second half deficit to take the lead with 3:56 to go before a deep three from Jhamir Brickus gave La Salle (2-0) the victory in the final minute on Saturday afternoon at Gola Arena, 79-74.
The Huskies trailed by nine midway through the second half before turning it on down the stretch.
Joe Pridgen (18 points) tied the game at 65 with 5:38 left on a three before giving Northeastern its first lead since the 9:00 mark of the first half with a layup with less than four minutes to play.
After Pridgen once again leveled the game with less than a minute to play to setup the wild ending, it was Brickus (22 points) who got the last laugh, burying a contested three with 27 seconds left to give the Explorers a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Pridgen led four Huskies in double-figures on an 8-of-14 afternoon, joined by
Masai Troutman (17 points),
Luka Sakota (14 points), and
Harold Woods (12 points). Northeastern finished the day shooting 44% from the floor, 38% from deep, and dominated the glass (43-26)
Anwar Gill (15 points) and Khalil Brantley (14 points) joined Brickus in double figures for a La Salle team that shot 48% overall, was a perfect 12-of-12 from the line and turned the ball over just four times.
It was a back-and-forth opening half as Pridgen led all scorers with 11 points to bring Northeastern within four at the break, 38-34.
The Huskies found themselves in foul trouble as
Chris Doherty and Sakota both picked up two fouls in the first eight minutes of the game. But NU hung in there, keeping it within two scores before an 11-0 La Salle run gave the hosts a 36-24 lead with three minutes until recess.
Northeastern wouldn't go away, though, closing the half on a 10-2 run capped by a three from Pridgen. The Huskies shot 44% overall and controlled the glass, 21-12, during the opening 20 minutes.
The Huskies will be back in action on Tuesday night when Northeastern travels to Harvard for a 7 p.m. tip from Lavietes Pavilion.
