Late Comeback Falls Short at Northeastern
BOSTON – Colgate trimmed an 11-point deficit into a one-possession game late in regulation but couldn't hold off the Huskies 78-75 in a back-and-forth battle Sunday afternoon at Matthews Arena.
Colgate falls to 2-8 on the year, while Northeastern improves to 7-3 overall.
COACH LANGEL'S COMMENTS
"We certainly had our chances. Northeastern has positioned itself well early in the season with some nice wins to their name. Winning on the road is extremely hard to do in college basketball. Our schedule has been challenging with the circumstances we've faced. Our guys stepped up and fought hard together to make some plays, but every game has its own identity. This was a back-and-forth contest and ultimately we came up short."
HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
Northeastern snatched the victory with a game-deciding 9-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 60-52 lead with 7:06 remaining in the contest. The hot-shooting Huskies opened their largest lead, 70-59, with 2:40 remaining, after five unanswered points from Harold Woods.
The Raiders fought tooth and nail to close within one possession late. Chandler Baker swished back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the margin to 73-68, and then Louis-Jacques was fouled on a three-point attempt. He made all three free throws to close the gap to 75-73 with seven ticks left.
Northeastern struggled from the free throw line all afternoon but JB Frankel made two big ones to make it 78-75 with four seconds left. In one last gasp Jalen Cox ran the floor and drew two defenders before passing to an open Brady Cummins, but his shot from the right wing rattled out as time expired.
RAIDERS BUILD FIRST-HALF LEAD
Colgate's early offensive woes continued, starting 1-of-7 from the field allowing Northeastern to open an early 14-6 advantage. Louis-Jacques scored in transition at 18:45, and Colgate's next field goal came on a tip-in layup by Cameron Brennan at the 12:42 mark of the opening stanza.
The 14-6 deficit was the largest of the half for the Raiders, who rallied behind their defense. Cummins and Parker Jones canned 3-pointers off turnovers before Jones swished another trey to give Colgate a 20-19 lead with 6:03 remaining in the first half.
Louis-Jacques and Jones pressured Northeastern into turnovers on four straight possessions. Jones' steal in the backcourt led to a breakaway two-handed dunk that capped an 11-0 burst with the Raiders in front 32-22 with 2:00 remaining in the half.
Northeastern closed the frame on a 6-0 run to trim Colgate's margin to 32-28 at the intermission.
COLGATE OVERCOMES EARLY SECOND-HALF RUN
Northeastern carried over its manufactured momentum, starting 4-for-4 from the field and quickly turning it into a 17-2 extended run that carried over from the first half. A three-point play gave the home team a 39-34 lead with 16:02 remaining in the game.
Reserves Baker and Cameron Brennan provided Colgate with a second-half spark. A tough inside layup by Baker followed by a three-point play from Brennan cut the margin to 41-40. Cummins swished a trey in transition and Colgate reclaimed a 48-45 with 11:15 left.
Colgate still led 52-51 on a layup by Louis-Jacques with 9:14 remaining but the Huskies took control with a 9-0 countering surge to claim the lead for good.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Cummins led five Raiders in double-figure scoring with 15 points on 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Jalen Cox, who was 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and Nicolas Louis-Jacques scored 14 apiece, while Parker Jones finished with 13 and Baker 12.
- Colgate racked up 14 steals on a day Northeastern turned the ball over 18 times. The Raiders outscored the Huskies 23-8 off turnovers but the home team got 23 points from Rashad King and turned 11 offensive rebounds into a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points.
- Colgate shot 44.2 percent overall and 39.1 percent from behind the arc, while Northeastern shot 59 percent in the second half and 54 percent for the game. The Raiders were 20-of-26 from the free throw line to Northeastern's 19-of-29 mark.
UP NEXT
Colgate (2-8) heads to Lexington, Ky., to take on No. 4 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game airs nationally on ESPN2.
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