Northeastern came all the way back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take the lead with under 10 minutes to play, but the Huskies could not hold it as they lost, 67-60, Sunday afternoon in snowy Orono. The loss snaps NU's four-game winning streak.
Leading 12-9, Maine went on a 9-0 run to open up a 21-9 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half. Joe Campbell scored five points in that stretch on a three-pointer and two free throws.
The Huskies (10-7, 6-2) responded with eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to 21-17. Jose Juan Barea and Marcus Barnes hit back-to-back threes, and Barea made a layup, prompting a Maine timeout.
The Black Bears (9-8, 4-4) then rattled off eight straight points to go up 29-17.
Ernest Turner's three with 2:48 left in the stanza upped the advantage to 33-19, giving Maine its largest lead of the first half. It equaled that after Mark Flavin's layup made it 36-22. The score remained the same when the teams went into the locker room.
The 22 halftime points are the fewest for the Huskies this season. Their previous low was 28, that coming in a 97-60 loss to Connecticut on Dec. 6, 2004.
Northeastern came out of the break fired up, scoring 14 of the first 16 points of the second half -- all on shots from no more than two feet from the basket -- to narrow the gap to 38-36.
Adrian Martinez's three-pointer from the top of the key gave the Huskies a 41-40 lead, their first since Bennet Davis drained a 35-footer as the shot clock expired for the game's first points.
After Aaron Davis' transition jumper gave Northeastern a 46-43 advantage, Maine scored the next 10 points to grab a 53-46 lead with six minutes to play. Flavin converted three-point plays on consecutive possessions to cap the run.
Two Barnes free throws pulled the Huskies within four at 57-53, but Flavin made a shot from in close and Campbell laid one in on the break to increase the Black Bear bulge to 61-53.
Bennet Davis' short jumper and Barea's difficult lay-in made it a four point game at 61-57.
Bennet Davis then scored off a lob from Barea on a set inbounds play with 1:36 remaining to bring NU within two, but Flavin provided the dagger by sinking a difficult layup with 40 seconds left.
Barea led the Huskies with 18 points, while Barnes added 14. Both, however, strugled with their shot, going just 7-for-24 and 3-for-14 from the floor, respectively.
Flavin led four Black Bears in double figures with 19 points.
Northeastern hosts Stony Brook on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
NU vs MAINE
01/23/05 1:00 PM at Alfond Arena, Orono, Maine
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VISITORS: NU 10-7, 6-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
14 Davis, Bennet....... f 4-8 1-1 3-4 5 3 8 1 12 2 5 2 0 36
33 Cole, Janon......... f 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 1 1 22
03 Barnes, Marcus...... g 3-14 1-7 7-10 1 0 1 3 14 2 2 0 3 36
05 Barea, Jose Juan.... g 7-24 2-8 2-2 2 1 3 3 18 4 5 0 1 34
22 Kelly, Bobby........ g 1-2 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 2 0 0 1 12
11 Martinez, Adrian.... 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 10
12 Davis, Aaron........ 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 6 6 2 5 0 0 1 2 28
15 Farmer, Jeff........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
21 James, Shawn........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 2 0 2 6 0 16
50 Washington, Mark.... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 5
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 21-60 6-21 12-16 10 18 28 15 60 10 17 10 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-23 30.4% 2nd Half: 14-37 37.8% Game: 35.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 2-12 16.7% Game: 28.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-6 66.7% 2nd Half: 8-10 80.0% Game: 75.0% 2
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HOME TEAM: MAINE 9-8, 4-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 Flavin, Mark........ f 8-16 0-2 3-4 2 6 8 3 19 1 3 2 1 35
23 Dubois, David....... f 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 1 3 0 0 13
32 Campbell, Joe....... f 4-10 1-3 3-4 3 5 8 2 12 2 6 1 2 34
03 Turner, Ernest...... g 7-15 0-2 4-4 0 3 3 3 18 5 4 0 0 37
21 Reed, Kevin......... g 4-11 3-5 2-2 2 11 13 2 13 2 1 0 2 39
04 Bruff, Chris........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 10
11 Hight, Jason........ 0-2 0-0 3-3 0 2 2 4 3 2 4 0 3 29
40 Ahvenniemi, Olli.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 3
Team................ 4 2 6 1
Totals.............. 24-56 4-12 15-17 14 31 45 17 67 13 24 3 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9% 2nd Half: 12-28 42.9% Game: 42.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 0-4 0.0% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-9 88.9% 2nd Half: 7-8 87.5% Game: 88.2% 2
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Officials: Michael Rutherford, Dan Boomhour, Rich Mansur
Technical fouls: NU-None. MAINE-None.
Attendance: 1678
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
NU............................ 22 38 - 60
MAINE......................... 36 31 - 67
ID-276455