CHARLESTON, S.C. – Bolden Brace hit the game-winner from the baseline as time expired and Northeastern escaped with a 73-72 road win at College of Charleston on Thursday night at TD Arena.
 
The Huskies (14-11, 7-6 CAA) had four players in double figures, but it was the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week with his ninth point that won it all.
 
Charleston's Nick Harris hit a jump hook with 22 seconds remaining to give the Cougars (19-7, 10-3 CAA) a 72-71 lead.
 
After a missed jumper by T.J. Williams with three seconds left, Brace got the offensive rebound and made the miraculous last-second shot.
 
Joe Chealey scored a game-high 28 points as the Cougars lost their first in three league games. Northeastern, meanwhile, rebounded from dropping the last six out of seven games in CAA play.
 
Both teams shot 45 percent or better from the floor including Northeastern (47.4%) and CofC (45.5%). The Cougars lead by 16 points at halftime, 37-21, but the Huskies scored 52 second-half points to claw back.
 
The College will play its next three-straight games on the road beginning with a rematch at William & Mary on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. (ET) in Williamsburg, Va. The game will be televised regionally on Comcast SportsNet and locally on MeTV.
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Northeastern now leads 5-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston since the Cougars joined the CAA in 2013. The Huskies are 2-1 in games played at TD Arena.
• For the ninth time this season, Joe Chealey scored 20-or-more points in a game with a game-high 28 points against Northeastern. He extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight consecutive games in league play.
• Grant Riller knocked down 19 points versus Northeastern to extend his double-digit scoring streak to 10-straight games against league opponents.
• Jarrell Brantley was close to another double-double performance with 14 points and seven rebounds against Northeastern.
• Nick Harris turned in his third double-figure rebounding game of the season (11) against Northeastern. He also added a season-high tying three blocked shots. The Cougars and Huskies tied in the rebounding column, 32-32.
• It marked the third game in conference play this season for CofC in which the contest was decided by two points or less next to a win at James Madison (+2) on Jan. 12, a win at UNCW (+1) on Feb. 2 and the one-point loss to Northeastern.

POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the loss when it ends on a buzzer beater …
"It's tough. We did a great job of digging ourselves out of a hole late. We weren't giving up and showed a lot of character. We were down eight with about three minutes to go. We continued to swing and continued to fight. We didn't give in, guys kept on trusting each other and we went up. To lose that way after a couple of balls got knocked around and deflected with a guy tipping a miraculous shot falling away. I give my players credit for fighting back. But, we have to make sure we stay true to us. We can't give up 50 points in a half. That's not who we are. We aren't built that way. We dug ourselves a hole. We didn't deserve to win the game, because of what happened in the second half. But at the end of the day, we had a chance at the end, because we are a good team. We have to continue to reach our potential. We didn't play to our potential and we have to play to our standards. It showed glaringly in the stats and the players know it. Tough loss. We had a chance, but when it is all said and done, we didn't deserve to win this game."
 
College of Charleston Redshirt Junior Guard Joe Chealey
On the loss …
"Well, we are obviously disappointed. But, it's conference play. The biggest thing for us is that we have to get up off the mat. We have a quick turnaround and a game on Saturday. As much as it sucks, we let that one slip. We still have a game in less than 48 hours in Virginia. We just have to find a way to bounce back."
 
On the last-second play …
"We let them score, but I don't want to say that. You have to give them (Northeastern) credit. They capitalized and made shots – 52 points in the second half. That's unacceptable by us. That's not Charleston Basketball. We don't do that. It's a collective effort. It starts with me trying to set the tone defensively and boxing out. We have to learn from it and move forward. It won't be the last game that will come down-to-the-wire."