BURLINGTON, Vt. – Trailing by 13 points with 2:21 to play, the Northeastern men's basketball team (5-3) cut the deficit to three in the final minute of regulation, but could not complete the comeback as Vermont (5-4) escaped with a 68-64 victory on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gym.
 
Northeastern pressed the Catamounts late, forcing Vermont into five turnovers in the last 1:54 to make it a one-possession game, but could not get one of its three three-point opportunities to fall in the final seconds to tie the game.
 
Rashad King tied a career-high with 27 points, eclipsing the 25+ point plateau for the second time this season as the only Husky in double figures. Youri Fritz added nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench as Northeastern shot 38% (24-of-64) as a team and just 1-of-15 from deep. The Huskies also recorded 15 steals in the game, the most since the 2017-18 season.
 
TJ Hurley was the story for Vermont, going for 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting, while Jace Roquemore recorded 13 points for a Catamounts squad that was 21-of-43 overall and 7-of-18 from three point range.
 
After calling an timeout less than two minutes into the game and the score tied at four, Vermont went on a 15-0 run over 4:21 on 5-of-6 from the floor to take control of the game early.
 
Alexander Nwagha provided a spark off the bench with back-to-back buckets during 9-3 Huskies run to help bring the deficit down to nine before Vermont went into the locker room up 35-22 thanks to 55% shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from deep.
 
Despite a 9-of-22 showing overall in the first as a team, King kept Northeastern within striking distance thanks to 10 points on 4-of-5.
 
Five quick points out of the break set the table for a three-point play from Fritz to bring the deficit back down to seven early in the second half before the Catamounts used a 10-2 run to go back up by double digits at 49-33 with 11:47 to play.
 
Northeastern wouldn't go quietly, though, clawing its way back into the game with a 9-1 run over nearly four minutes to make it a two-possession game at 52-46 with six minutes left to setup the wild ending.
 
The Huskies will return home for two games at Matthews Arena next week, beginning on Tuesday night against La Salle. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on NESN and FloCollege.