BOSTON – Luka Sakota (18) and Chris Doherty (16) combined for 34 points, including 25 in the second half, as the Northeastern men's basketball team (7-10, 2-2) picked up its second straight conference victory, topping Towson (9-8, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena, 67-59.
 
The win gives head coach Bill Coen 183 career wins in the CAA (regular season and postseason), tying Jim Larranaga for the most in conference history. 
 
Northeastern, which led for more than 35 minutes and held an 11-point halftime advantage, found itself in a fight over the final 10 minutes of regulation after the Tigers battled back to make it a one-point game, but the Huskies weathered the storm and hit eight of their final 11 shots to seal the victory.
 
Sakota led Northeastern for the second straight game, finishing the afternoon 6-of-10 from the floor along with a team-high five rebounds and four assists. He was joined in double figures by Doherty, who also went 6-of-10 overall and 3-of-4 from the line.
 
The Huskies went 25-of-43 on the day, the second time this season that Northeastern has shot 58% or better in a game, and scored 42 of its 67 points in the paint.
 
Towson, meanwhile, was led by Nendah Tarke's 17 points on 3-of-7 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the stripe, one of two Tigers in double figures on the day as Towson finished 17-of-40 overall.
 
It was a slow start to the afternoon, with the teams combining for 17 first half turnovers before the Huskies got hot down the stretch to take a 28-17 lead into the locker room.
 
Northeastern held Towson to 4-of-17 from the field in the first half and used a 13-4 run over the final six minutes to open up the lead. Bryce Johnson and Alexander Nwagha led the way with six points apiece off the bench for a Huskies squad that shot 52% overall.
 
Towson opened the second half shooting 8-of-12 from the field to trim the deficit down to one with 10:26 to play, with seven points coming from Tarke in that span.
 
The Huskies wouldn't relinquish the lead, though, keeping the Tigers at arm's distance the rest of the way and going on an 8-2 run to get the lead back up to 10 before icing the game with free throws.
 
The Huskies will head back on the road for their next two games, beginning on Thursday night at North Carolina A&T. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on FloHoops.