College of Charleston
16-12, 8-9CAA
Northeastern
16-14, 8-9CAA
Cougars Fall Short On The Road at Northeastern
2/26/2016 3:37:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON – Quincy Ford sank two key free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining to lead Northeastern to a 58-57 victory over College of Charleston on Senior Night at Matthews Arena.
The game was an important one as the Huskies (16-14, 8-9 CAA) and Cougars (16-12, 8-9 CAA) now share sixth place in the latest Colonial Athletic Association standings with a Top-6 CAA Tournament seed in the balance. NU will play on the road at Drexel and CofC at first-place Hofstra on Saturday.
Ford did not play in both teams' last outing which resulted in an overtime win for the Cougars on Jan. 28 at TD Arena. He ended the night with nine points, but went 2-for-2 from the free throw line when it mattered.
The game saw 12 lead changes and seven ties after a low-scoring first half by both squads with Northeastern taking a 23-19 advantage into the locker room.
In the second half of play, CofC would get into an offensive rhythm as freshman Marquise Pointer (Jonesboro, Ark.) drained a three-pointer to cut the NU lead to one, 23-22. The Cougars would sprint out to a 10-5 run and took over the lead on a layup by junior Payton Hulsey (Memphis, Tenn.) with 15:32 to go, 32-31.
Both teams traded baskets and the Huskies would build a six-point lead, 53-47, on a three-point play by Jeremy Miller with 3:26 left on the clock.
Not to be outdone and with much at stake, Charleston made another run outscoring Northeastern 10-3 in the final three minutes of the ballgame. Sophomore Cameron Johnson (Athens, Ga.) made back-to-back jumpers to give CofC the lead, 57-56, with 23 seconds remaining in regulation.
A blocking foul in the lane sent Ford to the line and Johnson had a good look at the basket, but his three-point attempt fell short at the top of the key for the Cougars. He was one of three players in double figures. Freshman Jarrell Brantley (Columbia, S.C.) turned in his fourth career double-double with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds, Johnson with 13 points and Hulsey with 12.
Zach Stahl led the Huskies with 15 points, while Caleb Donnelly added 12 points avoiding the CofC spoil of Senior Night festivities.
The Cougars will close out regular-season play at Hofstra (21-8, 13-4 CAA) on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. (ET) in Hempstead, N.Y. The game will be televised live nationally on the American Sports Network. Check your local listings.
For more information on College of Charleston Basketball, follow the Cougars on Twitter at @CofCBasketball.
POSTGAME NOTES
· College of Charleston went with the starting lineup of freshman Marquise Pointer, sophomore Cameron Johnson, junior Payton Hulsey, freshman Jarrell Brantley and freshman Nick Harris (7-7).
· Northeastern split the regular-season series with College of Charleston and now holds a 4-2 lead in the all-time series. The last four-consecutive games in the series have been decided in single digits.
· Jarrell Brantley recorded his fourth career double-double with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds at Northeastern. He has now scored in double figures in a career-best 10-straight contests. Brantley has also turned in back-to-back games with a double-double.
· Payton Hulsey had a near double-double performance with a career-high tying 12 points and nine rebounds at Northeastern.
· Cameron Johnson reached double figures for the 20th time in 28 games played this season with 13 points and a team-leading three assists and three steals at Northeastern.
· The CofC defense continues to hold league opponents to under 65 points or less having done so now in 16-of-17 games of the season at Northeastern (58 points).
· The Cougars tied a season low for turnovers in a single game with five at Northeastern. They previously made only five miscues against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 24.
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game and ball screens in the second half …
“We defended them really well in the first half and in the first eight minutes of the second half. They (Northeastern) found a niche in our ball-screen coverage. They laid it in three-or-four times. We kept up with them in scoring and went basket-to-basket with them. We did a good job of taking care of the ball. We were valuing the ball and making sharp passes. We were very continuous of trying not to make mistakes and did a good job of that. At the end of the day, we didn't make enough plays down the stretch to win it. Give Quincy Ford credit. He went to the free throw line down one and made two free throws. A lot of times at the end of a game, free throws are why you win or lose and he made both.”
On attacking Northeastern's zone defense in the first half …
“I don't know what happened to us in the first half. We had a ton of open threes and didn't make them. In the second half, Marquise (Pointer) came out and made two (three-pointers) right away and they went away from the zone and straight to man-to-man. In a one-possession game, it's just hard to fathom that we couldn't find a way to win that game with all of the good things that happened tonight, especially with our effort.”
