BOSTON – After seeing Elon (12-16, 5-10) erase a 16-point deficit to take a one-point lead with eight seconds left, Luka Sakota hit three free throws with the game on the line to send the Northeastern men's basketball team (11-7, 6-9) past the Phoenix on Thursday night at Matthews Arena, 61-58.
 
Northeastern took a 44-28 lead early in the second half before Elon went on a 17-3 run over nearly four minutes to make it a one-point game with 8:26 to go. Neither team led by more than a possession the rest of the way before the Phoenix pulled ahead for the first time since the 15:09 mark of the first half on a corner three from Max MacKinnon to give the visitors a 58-57 lead with less than 10 seconds to play.
 
On an inbounds pass coming out of a timeout, Sakota was fouled on a long three, sending the graduate student to the line with the game in his hands. Sakota, an 86% free throw shooter entering the night, was true to form, hitting all three from the stripe to regain the lead for good.
 
Northeastern, which started the night hot from the field, survived a second half cold spell to finish 22-of-52 overall and 9-of-20 from deep, highlighted by a 5-of-7 night from long range from Jared Turner, one of four Huskies in double figures. He was joined by Masai Troutman (13 points, six rebounds, four assists), Rashad King (12 points, six rebounds, five assists) and Chris Doherty (12 points, four rebounds), who recorded his 1000th career point earlier in the game.
 
The Huskies came out firing in the first half, shooting 60% as a team and leading by as many as 12 before taking a 36-26 lead into the locker room.
 
King did it all for Northeastern, dropping 12 points on 5-of-6 from the field (2-of-2 from three) along with five rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes, while Turner added nine points on 3-of-3 from deep for a Huskies squad that had 11 assists on 15 made baskets. The duo combined for a 13-2 NU run over more than five minutes to give the Huskies its biggest lead of the half, going 5-of-8 in the process.
 
Elon, meanwhile, struggled to find a rhythm in the first, going 11-of-31 overall and 3-of-16 from long range, while Sherry led the way with nine points and five boards.
 
Northeastern's steady shooting continued into the opening minutes of the second half as the Huskies used an 8-0 run from Troutman alone to go up by 16 before Elon began to claw back into it and setup the wild finish. 
 
The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday against Hampton at 12pm from Matthews Arena. Prior to the game, Northeastern will recognize Sakota, Doherty, Glen McClintock and Alexander Nwagha in a Senior Day ceremony.