By Andrew Parente, News Staff

With just seconds remaining, the men’s basketball team was on the verge of another heartbreaking loss in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
Down by one’ and with less than five seconds on the clock, junior guard Matt Janning went to the basket but his shot went in and out.
The rebound went to fellow junior Baptiste Bataille, who came up with the biggest two points of the game, converting on a jumper to give NU a 47-46 lead with just 1.3 seconds left.’
A failed inbound play followed from Drexel to lock up the thrilling win for the Huskies.
‘Their defense really limited our looks, even when we got around the basket they did a good job of contesting shots and bodying up in the post,’ said head coach Bill Coen. ‘That [final shot] was maybe the most open we were all night.’
The game-winner was Bataille’s only two points in the contest.
With the win, Northeastern improves to 18-10 and 12-5 in the CAA. Drexel falls to 15-12, 10-7 in conference play.
‘It was a very intense basketball game, I thought both teams competed start to finish,’ Coen said. ‘Everybody realizes what time of year it is and I thought the players did an excellent job of playing buzzer to buzzer.’
Combined with other CAA action last night, the win also guarantees the Huskies an all-important first round bye in the conference tournament to be held March 6 to March 9 in Richmond, Va.
‘ The Huskies came out strong right from the tip last night, scoring the game’s first 12 points.
‘ Junior forward Manny Adako got it started with a layup off a pass from sophomore guard Chaisson Allen, and Adako was also fouled in the process and made the free throw.
Allen, who finished with 10 points, then made a jumper of his own off a dish from Janning. Junior center Nkem Ojougboh then made 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead to 6-0.
Senior forward Eugene Spates then converted a long three-point basket followed by another jumper from Adako.
After a free throw from Spates, Drexel was finally able to get on the board with a three from guard Scott Rodgers.
From that point, the Dragons worked their way back into the game, using the three-ball to their advantage. As a team the Dragons went 5-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half.
After another three from Rodgers, the teams were tied at 25 in the closing seconds of the half.
However, Ojougboh was able to get to the free throw line with just two seconds left and made both attempts as the Huskies held a 27-25 halftime lead.
Northeastern started out strong in the second half as well, as it went on an 8-0 run.
However, the Dragons again battled back and took their first lead of the game with 8:23 to go after a three from guard Tramayne Hawthorne.
During the game’s final eight minutes, the teams went back and forth, exchanging one point leads.
After Drexel went up by one, 46-45, with 3:43 to play, there were no points scored until Bataille’s final shot.
For the game, Adako lead the Huskies with 17 points and they shot 39 percent as a team. The Husky defense was strong, holding the Dragons to just 30 percent from the floor.
‘It’s just that time of year, all the kids are excited,’ Coen said. ‘They’ve all gone through a feeling of experience throughout the year and now it comes down to somebody stepping up and making a play and Baptiste made a big play for us tonight to put us over the top.’
Northeastern will return home for senior day Saturday when it wraps up the regular season against Old Dominion (19-9, 11-6 CAA) at 6 p.m. at Matthews Arena.