FORT MYERS, Fla. – In a game that saw 13 ties and 23 lead changes, it was a basket from Rashad King with two seconds left that gave the Northeastern men's basketball team (4-1) a hard fought 60-58 victory over FIU (1-4) on Friday afternoon at Alico Arena.
 
Coming out of a timeout with 24 seconds to go and the score tied at 58, the Huskies put the ball in the hands of King, who worked the clock down and drove to the bucket for two before an FIU three at the buzzer rimmed out to give the Huskies its best start to the season since 2015-16.
 
Neither team led by more than five points in the contest and combined to score 82 points in the paint, as the Huskies finished the afternoon shooting 42% from the field (22-of-53).
 
King led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 6-of-7 from the line. He was joined in double figures by Harold Woods (12 points, three assists, two steals), while Masai Troutman added five points off the bench in his first action of the season.
 
Vianney Salatchoum was the lone Panther in double digits with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and six rebounds for an FIU squad that was 26-of-56 overall and 1-of-9 from deep.
 
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early on before the Huskies recovered to hit five of its final 10 shots of the half to head into the break leading by three, 30-27.
 
Neither squad led by more than four points in a physical first half that saw most of the work done down low, with 49 of the combined 57 first half points scored in the paint or at the foul line.
 
Woods led Northeastern with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting while King had seven, two rebounds and two assists for a Northeastern team that finished 12-of-29 from the field and 0-of-4 from deep.
 
It continued to be a back-and-forth affair throughout the second half including a 7-0 Northeastern run, the longest run of the day by either team, capped by a three from JB Frankel put the Huskies up five midway through the half.
 
A Salatchoum layup with 7:22 left brought the Panthers back within two setting up the exciting finish down the stretch, with neither team leading by more than a bucket the rest of the way.
 
The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday when Northeastern takes on tournament host FGCU. Tip-off at Alico Arena is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.