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Sophomore guard Joel Smith scored a career-high 21 points to lead four Huskies in double figures as Northeastern held off a late charge for a 70-67 win over William & Mary in Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball action on Monday night at Matthews Arena.

The Huskies (5-15, 1-8 CAA) led by as many as 18 early in the second half, but the Tribe (6-14, 2-7) rallied and cut the lead to three before time ran out.

Senior guard Chaisson Allen added 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Huskies. Sophomore guard Jonathan Lee chipped in 11 points and classmate Kauri Black contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Junior forward Quinn McDowell led the Tribe with 22 points. Rookie forward Tim Rusthoven netted 13 points off the bench and classmate Brandon Britt tallied 11 points and six assists.

The Huskies came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. After the Tribe scored first on a Marcus Kitts layup, Smith answered with a three to give the Huskies a lead they never relinquished. Northeastern scored ten unanswered points to turn a 6-4 lead into a 16-4 lead, capped by a steal and fastbreak layup by Allen with 14:09 to go in the first half.

Northeastern extended its lead to 20-7 and built a 17-point lead when Black threw down a dunk to put the Huskies up, 32-15, with 4:50 left in the first half.

The Tribe got back within 11 before a last-second layup by Black put the Huskies up, 38-25, at the break.

A 7-0 Northeastern run early in the second half capped by a Black layup gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game, up 48-30 with 15:36 to go.

From there, William & Mary slowly got back into the game, doing the most damage in the final minute. Entering the final minute with an eight-point lead, Kitts hit a pair of free throws to get the Tribe back within six. After Allen hit one of two free throws for the Huskies, McDowell was fouled after grabbing the rebound from his own missed three and hit both shots to make it a five-point game.

A Smith free throw was answered by a Rusthoven layup that brought the Tribe within four with 15 seconds to go and after being immediately fouled, Smith hit both free throws to restore a six-point lead.

Britt got the Tribe back within four with a layup that came with seven seconds on the clock, but after Allen hit one of two free throws for the Huskies, the clock ran out on William & Mary as a Rusthoven layup in the final second got the Tribe within three, but didn't leave enough time for any further scoring.

Each team made 24 field goals in the game, but the Huskies shot 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from beyond the arc, while holding the Tribe to 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from three-point land and keeping William & Mary without a three-pointer in the first half. The Tribe held a 39-27 advantage in rebounds.

The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday at 7 p.m., taking on UNC Wilmington in CAA action from Wilmington, N.C.