Ben Burnham scored 15 points Saturday and No. 18 Charleston never trailed, extending the nation’s longest winning streak with an 87-61 victory over host Northeastern in a Colonial Athletic Association game in Boston.
Charleston (21-1, 9-0), the first CAA team to be ranked since David Robinson’s Navy squad in 1986-87, has won 20 straight games, the longest winning streak in Division I since Murray State won 21 straight last season.
Thirteen of those wins have been by double digits, including seven in CAA play, while Saturday’s victory was the second wire-to-wire affair for the Cougars in their last three games.
Pat Robinson III had 14 points, including eight during a decisive run late in the first half. Ryan Larson finished with 12 points while five other players scored at least seven points.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4), which had its two-game winning streak snapped. It was the second double-double of the season for the senior forward.
Jared Turner added 11 points.
Charleston hit eight of its first 12 shots in racing out to an 18-8 lead. Larson had nine points in the run, including a pair of fast break layups off steals.
The Cougars then went cold, going 1-for-12 from the field while turning the ball over four times in a span of more than eight minutes. Northeastern outscored Charleston 13-5 in that stretch and pulled with 23-21 on a 3-pointer by Coleman Stucke with 7:14 left.
After a turnover by Charleston, the Huskies had a chance to take the lead, but Turner missed a 3-pointer. Jaylon Scott split a pair of free throws on the Cougars’ next possession to start the decisive 19-5 run to end the half. Stucke missed a 3-pointer, after which Robinson scored six straight points.
Consecutive layups by Doherty pulled Northeastern within 43-30 with 18:09 left, but Larson and Reyne Smith each hit 3-pointers during a 12-2 run that extended Charleston’s lead to 55-32 with 14:28 remaining left.
The lead never fell below 20 points thereafter for the Cougars, who eventually led by as many as 33 before the Huskies scored the final seven points.
–Field Level Media