Box score

Northeastern got out to a 9-0 start on James Madison and never looked back as the Huskies cruised to a 73-61 victory over the Dukes Saturday at Matthews Arena.

The Huskies scored a season-high 47 first-half points as they shot 60 percent from the field. Matt Janning and Chaisson Allen paced Northeastern with 16 points apiece. Allen was 6-for-7 from the field and nailed four three-pointers. Janning was 7-for-11 from the floor and also contributed four assists. Nkem Ojougboh added eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Northeastern (6-7, 1-1 CAA) has now won four straight games and has earned its first conference victory of the year while James Madison (6-6, 0-2 CAA) has now lost four of its last six.

The Huskies took control of the contest right away with a 9-0 run to start the game. Five different Huskies scored, including Allen, who hit the first of four three-pointers at 18:34. Janning's layup at 18:06 gave NU a 9-0 advantage. Meanwhile, in In that span, James Madison had some good looks at the baskets but missed its first seven shots.

Northeastern quickly expanded its lead to double digits as the team was 6-for-7 from the field between the 14:00 mark and the 10:26 mark. Janning punctuated the 14-4 streak with a dunk over Trevon Flores at 10:26, giving NU a 23-9 advantage.

The Huskies continued to drop three-pointers as Allen and Janning sank shots throughout the half. Allen's three-pointer at 8:20 doubled up JMU, 28-14. After Joel Smith drained a trey at 5:59, a Julius Wells offensive foul gave the ball back to Northeastern, and Janning took advantage with a long three-pointer to give the Huskies their largest lead of the day, 20 points, 39-19.

James Madison shot just 39.3 percent in the first half and trailed the Huskies at halftime 47-28.

In the second half, the Huskies did not let up as Janning hit a pair of buckets early. Then he had a nifty pass inside to a wide open Ojougboh at 13:26 to give NU an 18-point lead. Baptiste Bataille then got the crowd going with a no-look pass in the lane to Ojougboh, who dunked home the ball and put the Huskies on top 61-43 with 11:04 to play.

Head coach Bill Coen then decided to rest most of his starters, but the Dukes were unable to get any closer than 12 points. Coming off the bench, Bataille finished with 11 points and tied a career high with five assists. Brian McDonald chipped in five points and an assist in 12 strong minutes.

Northeastern finished with a season-high 18 assists. The team shot 51.8 percent for the game, 47.6 from downtown.

James Madison was led by Julius Wells, who had 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Pierre Curtis added 11 and Flores chipped in 10.

Northeastern will have a quick turnaround as it is in the midst of four conference games in eight days. The Huskies will play at VCU this Monday in Richmond, Va., at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.