Box Score
Post-Game Press Conference

AMHERST, Mass., Nov. 14, 2011 -- Northeastern men's basketball couldn't overcome a slow start and cold shooting on Friday night in an 83-67 loss to Massachusetts at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. The Huskies struggled from the floor, shooting just 38 percent (19-50) on the night.

A spirited second-half run by Northeastern closed the margin to six with just over 10:00 remaining, but that was as close as the Huskies would get, in a game marked by a combined 55 fouls and 41 turnovers.

Junior co-captains Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) and Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) led Northeastern with 15 points each. Lee also had five assists and five steals. It was the sixth-consecutive double-figure scoring performance for Lee, and the fourth-straight for Smith. Junior Kauri Black (Rialto, Calif.) and freshman Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) collected seven points apiece, while senior Kashief Edwards (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Alwayne Bigby (Toronto, Ontario) each contributed six points and six rebounds. The Huskies converted 15 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.

Sophomore point guard Chaz Williams collected a game-high 20 points and 10 assists to lead UMass. Terrell Vinson and Sampson Carter also scored in double figures, with 14 and 12 respectively.

Northeastern battled a swarming UMass defense and cold shooting to open the game, going scoreless for the first 3:09 of the first half, before two quick baskets--layups by Edwards and Bigby--cut the UMass margin to one, 5-4.

Shooting woes, though, continued to plague the Huskies. A five-minute scoring drought, during which UMass scored 14 straight points, pushed the margin to 15. Two Smith free throws broke the drought.

A free throw by Lee followed by a transition layup off a steal--one of six Huskies steals in the first half--cut the lead to 10 with 4:00 remaining in the half, and forced UMass to call a timeout.

Late in the half, Northeastern narrowed the lead to nine on two free throws by Black, but the Minutemen used a 7-4 run to push the advantage back to double digits, 40-28, at the half.

The teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair to open the second half, with UMass slowly extending the lead to 17, before four straight Smith free throws pulled the Huskies back to within 13 and forced another UMass timeout.

Less than 15 seconds out of the timeout, Lee gave the Huskies new life, with a steal and a transition dunk. The Flint, Mich., native drew a flagrant foul on the dunk (against UMass' Maxie Esho), and made both free throws. On the continuing possession, after two missed free throws by Black, Lee snagged the offensive rebound and scored on a driving layup to single-handedly cut the margin to seven.

Two free throws by UMass' Sean Carter were quickly followed by a three-pointer from Smith, to pull the Huskies to within six with 10:28 remaining.

Free throws by Vinson and transition layups by Freddie Riley and Williams regained the momentum for the Minutemen, who closed the game on a 26-16 run to secure the win.

Northeastern is now 1-1 on the season. UMass moves to 2-0.

The Huskies will play their home-opener at historic Matthews Arena on Saturday, Nov. 19, against Southern Illinois. The game, which is part of the university's weekend-long homecoming celebration, will tip-off at 2 p.m. Northeastern and Southern Illinois played an epic overtime game last season, with the Huskies claiming a nationally-televised 63-62 win.


NOTES
> Freshman Demetrius Pollard played in his first collegiate game, scoring two points in six minutes
> Freshman Marco Banegas-Flores scored his first points as a Husky, collecting four points and two assists in 13 minutes
> Junior Jonathan Lee scored in double-figures for the sixth-consecutive game
> Junior Joel Smith went 8-8 from the free throw line, and is now 18-18 on the season