BOSTON — Graduate student Chris Doherty recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Northeastern men's basketball team (12-17, 7-9 CAA) picked up an important CAA win over Hampton (7-22, 2-14 CAA) on Senior Day at Matthews Arena Saturday afternoon. The Huskies made their free throws down the stretch as Hampton got it within single digits, but NU held on for a 70-62 win. 

Prior to the contest, the Huskies honored five seniors for their contributions to the program during their time at Northeastern: Glen McClintock, Luka Sakota, Alexander Nwagha, Doherty and student manager Saul Amkraut.

Doherty was the leader in points with sophomore Harold Woods scoring 12 to follow the graduating senior. With 13:02 to play in the first half, Doherty knocked down a three-pointer that gave him 1,000 career points as a Northeastern Husky. He eclipsed the 1,000 mark for his total career Thursday against Elon, but became one of 42 players to ever reach the millenial mark while donning the Red & Black.

The Huskies raced out of the gates with blazing speed, quickly putting up 12 points and taking an eight-point lead in the first five minutes. An 8-0 run was capped off by a Woods fast break layup off a steal, forcing Hampton to take a timeout.

Northeastern extended that first-half lead to as many as 19 points when it went on a 15-2 run in the latter stages of the first to take a 34-15 lead. NU did not allow a field goal from the Pirates for 4:11 and two three-pointers from JB Frankel electrified the Matthews Arena crowd. The Huskies would end the first half up 40-22 after Nwagha hustled for a rebound and laid in a last-second putback score.

After trading buckets for the first five minutes of the second stanza, NU picked up where they left off with a 14-4 run emphasized by back-to-back Jared Turner threes. The sophomore would finish with eight points and three rebounds. At this point, the lead had ballooned to 26 points with 11:32 to play.

But Hampton fought back, getting the margin to just six points with 33 seconds to play off a three-pointer. It would prove to be too little, too late for the Pirates as Doherty sank three free throws in the final minute and sophomore Masai Troutman iced the contest with a slam to pull away for the win. Troutman finished with eight points, tied for Turner for third on the team.

On top of the points and rebounds leaders, Sakota added seven points and a career-high eight assists, the most helpers from a Husky since sophomore Rashad King dished out eight against Georgia Southern on Nov. 21, 2023.

Next up, Northeastern hits the road for its final two games of the regular season, at Delaware Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. and on the road at Drexel Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m. Both contests will stream on FloSports.