WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Northeastern men's basketball team (15-14, 7-9) overcame an 11-point first half deficit to lead midway through the second half, but a 7-0 Monmouth run late gave the Hawks (11-18, 9-7) a 78-73 win on Monday night at OceanFirst Bank Center.
 
LA Pratt scored a career-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting (5-of-9 from three) to lead four Huskies in double figures. He was joined by JB Frankel (14 points, six assists), Rashad King (13 points, two blocks, two steals) and William Kermoury (11 points on 3-of-5) for a Northeastern team that shot 43% overall and committed a season-low six turnovers.
 
Collin Metcalf added five points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, tied for ninth in a game in program history and the most in a game for a Husky since Bennet Davis in 2006.
 
Monmouth, meanwhile, received 30 points from Abdi Bashir Jr., 18 from Cornelius Robinson Jr. and outrebounded Northeastern 41-23 on the night.
 
It was a first half of runs for both teams, with Monmouth shooting 53% and using a quick 8-0 run late in the half to take a 39-33 lead into the break, thanks to 11 points apiece from Bashir Jr. and Robinson Jr.
 
Pratt went for 10 points on 4-of-7 overall to lead the Huskies, who shot 44% as a team and rebounded from an 11-0 Monmouth run with an 8-0 run of its own highlighted by a pair of triples from Kermoury.
 
Neither team led by more than two possessions the rest of the way, with the Huskies coming out of the break firing, opening on a 9-2 run to retake the lead just 2:15 into the second half.
 
The teams went shot for shot from there, with 12 lead changes over the final 20 minutes including a 10-2 Northeastern run capped by a bucket from Pratt to give the visitors a 52-50 lead with 12:27 left.
 
Pratt continued to do the work, going for another 16 in the second half, including six straight Northeastern points in less than a minute to put the Huskies ahead 65-63 with six minutes left.
 
A 7-0 Monmouth run from there, though, all coming from Robinson Jr. put the Hawks up for good before Bashir Jr. iced it at the line to give the hosts the victory.
 
The Huskies will return home for Senior Night on Thursday against North Carolina A&T. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on NESN+ and FloCollege, and the Huskies will honor senior Sam Thomson, Nate Francois and Alexander Nwagha in a pregame ceremony.