Box Score
Post-game press conference

HARRISONBURG, Va., Jan. 7, 2012 -- The Northeastern men's basketball team used a strong defensive effort and timely shooting to earn a hard-fought 68-56 conference win at James Madison on Saturday. Northeastern limited the CAA's most prolific 3-point-shooting team to a season-low one make from beyond the arc and held the Dukes to their second-lowest point total of the season. The Huskies' defense now has held four of its last six opponents to 56 or fewer points. Northeastern, which has won three of its last four games, improves to 2-2 in CAA play and 6-8 overall.

The Huskies, who led by one at the half, built an 11-point second-half lead with just over seven minutes remaining. The home-standing Dukes cut the lead to just three, but clutch shots from Jonathan Lee, Joel Smith and Quincy Ford ended any chance for a JMU rally.

For the Huskies, Lee and Ford scored 20 points each to lead all scorers. The total was a career high for Ford. Smith tallied seven, Alwayne Bigby and Kashief Edwards each added six, Ryan Pierson chipped in five, and Kauri Black scored four for the visitors. A season-high five Northeastern players made at least one 3-pointer, with Lee, Ford, Smith, Bigby and Pierson all connecting from long range.

A.J. Davis scored 14 points to lead JMU (7-7, 1-3 CAA). Devon Moore and Enoch Hood added 11 apiece. Hood also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Northeastern held Humpty Hitchens--the Dukes' leading scorer at better than 16 points per game--to just six points on the afternoon.

JMU opened the second half quickly, scoring four points in the first 49 seconds, to erase Northeastern's one-point halftime lead. A free throw by Ford and a jumper by Lee evened the score at 35 with 16:30 remaining. The Dukes again built a three-point advantage--matching their largest of the game--just a minute later on free throws by Hood.

Edwards and Lee scored back-to-back baskets to give the Huskies a short-lived 39-38 lead. A basket by Hood put the home team back in front, before a free-throw-line jumper by Edwards at 13:30 put the visitors ahead for good.

With the lead in hand, the Northeastern defense clamped down on the Dukes, holding them scoreless for more than six minutes. A basket by Hitchens ended the JMU drought, before a 3-pointer from Ford gave the Huskies an 11-point advantage with just over seven minutes to play.

After a layup by Hood cut the margin to nine, JMU extended its defense and scored the game's next six points to cut the lead to just three, 53-50, with 4:22 remaining. With the game on the line, the Huskies' co-captains, Smith and Lee, answered the call, connecting on a pair of long-range threes to stymie the Dukes' comeback bid.

Lee and Ford added four more points each down the stretch, and Bigby notched one, to cap the Huskies' game-closing 15-6 run.

In the second half, Lee led all scorers with 14 points, while Ford added 12. Davis tallied eight second-half points to lead the Dukes. Northeastern turned the ball over just twice in the game's second 20 minutes.

To open the game, Northeastern jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind five points from Pierson, including the sophomore's first career 3-pointer. JMU quickly responded with seven straight points to take their first lead, 9-8, in a half that featured four ties and six lead changes. Six straight points from Northeastern again gave the visitors the lead. A basket by Hood ended the run, but back-to-back layups by Edwards and Black gave the Huskies their largest lead of the half, 18-11, at the 12:33 mark.

Nine straight points by the Dukes gave the home side the lead again, 20-18. Out of a timeout, a perfectly executed back screen led to a lob pass and dunk--Bigby to Black--to end the run and draw the Huskies even at 20. Ford then single-handedly kept the Huskies close, scoring all eight Northeastern points over more than five minutes. Fellow leading-scorer Lee then scored the Huskies' final four points of the half, all within the final minute, to send the Red and Black to the locker room with a one-point lead, 32-31.

In the first half, Ford led all scorers with eight points. Lee scored six, while Pierson and Bigby each added five for the Huskies. Moore led JMU with seven points in the half, while Semenov and Davis each added six.

For the game, Northeastern shot 50 percent (25-50), to the Dukes' 40 percent (20-50). The Huskies connected on 44 percent of their 3-point attempts (7-16), compared to just 10 percent (1-10) by JMU. At the free throw line, Northeastern shot 69 percent (11-16), while the Dukes were an impressive 79 percent (15-19). JMU out-rebounded Northeastern, 31-26.

Northeastern will take to the road for the sixth time in seven games when it travels to Hempstead, N.Y., on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against the Hofstra Pride.

GAME NOTES
> Northeastern has limited four of its last six opponents to 56 or fewer points
> A season-high five different Northeastern players made at least one 3-point shot
> Quincy Ford scored a career-high 20 points; he has scored in double figures in six of the last nine games
> Jonathan Lee notched his sixth-career 20-point game; the junior co-captain has scored in double figures in 23 of the last 26 games
> Ryan Pierson connected on his first-career 3-pointer
> Kauri Black collected a career-high four steals
> Joel Smith has made at least one 3-point shot in nine straight games, and in 35 of the last 36 games
> Northeastern has turned the ball over 14 or fewer times in five straight games, after a stretch of five games with 20 or more turnovers; the Huskies committed just two second-half turnovers on Saturday
> Since joining the CAA, Northeastern has never lost a Saturday game (4-0) in Harrisonburg
> Northeastern is now 6-2 on the season when leading at the half
> Northeastern limited James Madison to its second-lowest point total of the season and lowest 3-point-shot production