WILMINGTON, N.C. – In a midweek CAA match-up, Northeastern (10-8, 2-3 CAA) fell behind in the final 10 minutes to UNCW (13-5, 3-2 CAA), losing by a final score of 80-72 at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Huskies dropped another Thursday night CAA bout, despite shooting 54% from the field and having two players tally 20 points on the night. LA Pratt tallied 20 of his 22 points in the first half, on 8-for-11 shooting in the opening period, and finished the night with five assists, three rebounds, and a steal. Rashad King had an explosive second half to finish with 20 points, a team-high nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Northeastern also got 13 from JB Frankel, along with two assists and three rebounds.
 
Northeastern came out strong defensively, preventing UNCW from tallying a basket for the first five minutes on the contest, while grabbing an early 11-3 lead in the process. The Huskies led by as much as 10 late in the first half, but a flurry of turnovers forced by the UNCW defense allowed the Seahawks to pull ahead for their first lead of the game with 1:19 left in the half, leading 39-36 at halftime after a 9-0 run.
 
After UNCW took the lead at half, Northeastern opened up the second half on an 11-4 run, which included a stretch of nine straight points for the Huskies, but their 53-52 advantage with 11:54 to go was the last lead they'd hold in the half. Rashad King capped off a 10-0 scoring run to cut the UNCW lead down to one point with five minutes left, scoring a putback layup and a steal-and-score on the ensuing possession. After a UNCW basket, King hit two free throws to one again cut the deficit to just one point, but a 12-5 run by the 'Hawks in the final two minutes put the game away.
 
The Seahawks hit four three-pointers on nine tries in the second half, compared to the Huskies' 3-for-8. Northeastern's 51.9% overall shooting in the second was overshadowed by UNCW's 53.6%
 
LA Pratt's 20 points in the first half was the first by a Husky since 2021, when Tyson Walker tallied 21 points in the opening half against North Carolina. Walker's performance was the first 20-point performance allowed by the Tar Heels since 2017.
 
The Huskies continue their tour of the Carolinas this Saturday, January 18^th as they take on the College of Charleston in a 5 p.m. contest on FloCollege.