BOSTON (AP) — Ben Burnham scored 15 points and Ryan Larson and Pat Robinson III had 12 apiece on Saturday to lead No. 18 Charleston to its 20th win in a row, an 87-61 victory over Northeastern.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 12 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4 CAA). The Huskies haven’t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
Charleston opened an early 10-point lead before Northeastern cut it to 21-18 on Doherty’s layup with about eight minutes left in in the first half. It was 24-21 when the Cougars ran off the next 12 points – getting three baskets inside by Robinson before back-to-back 3-pointers from Burnham and Raekwon Horton.
It was 48-32 when Charleston ran off 11 of the next 13 points to make it a 25-point game. The Cougars led by as many as 33 points, 87-54.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Cougars are the only ranked CAA team and have a chance to pile up wins in the conference as they eye the postseason.
BIG PICTURE
The game was just the third time Northeastern has hosted an AP Top 25 team at Matthews Arena, which was built in 1910 and was the original home of the Boston Bruins and New England Whalers. Top-ranked Michigan State visited in 2015 and No. 20 Duke played here in 1995.
UP NEXT
Charleston: Will go for win No. 21 in a row at home against Hofstra next Saturday.
Northeastern: Visits Towson on Thursday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
