Northeastern University Athletics

BOSTON – After seeing Harvard (2-1) claw back to erase a double-digit second half deficit, a resilient Northeastern men's basketball team (1-2) recovered to force overtime on a last-second free throw before getting an enormous defensive stop late in OT to outlast the Crimson on Tuesday night in front of an electric Cabot Center crowd, 74-70.
 
With Harvard leading 60-59 in the final seconds of regulation, Mike Loughnane was fouled going up for a putback, putting him on the line for two shots with 0.8 seconds left and the game on the line. Loughnane would miss the front end before bouncing back to sink the second and send the game to OT.
 
The teams went punch-for-punch in the extra session, with neither team leading by more than a possession through most of the frame. Then, with the Huskies holding a 72-70 lead following a Loughnane layup, Dorian Grosber made a game-winning block on Ben Eisendrath with six seconds to play before Loughnane iced the game at the line to give the hosts the win.
 
Loughnane finished the night with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting (3-of-7 from three) along with seven rebounds and three assists, while Louis Bond had a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 from the floor with five rebounds and three assists. Rashad King added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds for a Northeastern team that finished 43% from the field (28-of-65).
 
Harvard, meanwhile, shot 41% on the night and had four players in double figures, led by 21 points from Thomas Batties II.
 
Northeastern got the crowd engaged early, starting the game 7-of-14 from the field led by six points from Bond. The Huskies would go on a 9-2 run over less than three minutes, bookended by buckets from King to lead 19-9 midway through the half. NU controlled the paint throughout the half, outscoring the Crimson 20-6 down low before finishing the half 13-of-27 overall to lead 29-19 at recess while holding Harvard to an 8-of-26 showing from the floor (2-of-11 3FG).
 
A quick 6-2 Crimson run to start the second half, with all points coming from Batties II, trimmed the deficit down to six before Northeastern responded with a 9-0 run to balloon the lead back up to double digits with 15:05 left in regulation, 40-25.
 
Harvard wouldn't go quietly, though, and went 7-of-8 from the floor during an 18-2 run over nearly five minutes to claw back into it and make it a four-point game with 8:01 left.
 
It was back and forth from there, with Northeastern clinging to the lead before a Jason Singleton three gave Harvard its first lead of the night with 2:01 to play to setup the wild finish and eventual overtime. 
 
The Huskies will be back in action on Friday night when Northeastern hosts Yale at 7 p.m. at the Cabot Center on FloCollege.