Utah State holds off late-charging Northeastern 71-67

Nov 24, 2017, 11:36 pm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- DeAngelo Isby scored nine points down the stretch as Utah State rallied past Northeastern late in the game, then held off the Huskies and red-hot Vasa Pusica 71-67 Friday in the PK80 tournament at Nashville.

Pusica scored a career-high 27 points and had nailed a full-court, buzzer-beating turnaround 3-pointer to give Northeastern a one-point lead at the half. With nine seconds left in the game, he appeared poised to do it again, his sixth 3-pointer pulling the Huskies to within 68-67. But, racing down court to catch a pass after Utah State missed a free throw, Pusica's momentum took him out of bounds with 1.1 seconds showing. Northeastern quickly fouled but Alex Dargenton hit both free throws and Utah State held on.

Sam Merrill led the Aggies (3-3) with 19 points, Dargenton added 10. Isby scored nine of his 14 points in the last nine minutes. Utah State forced 20 turnovers and made eight steals, both season highs.

Donnell Gresham added nine points for Northeastern (2-3), Pusica was 6-for-8 from distance.