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BOSTON—The Northeastern Huskies, who claimed improbable come-from-behind victories in three of their first six games, could not complete another dramatic comeback on Wednesday night, losing to Maine, 76-73, at Matthews Arena in Boston. Trailing by 11 with under five minutes to play, NU charged back to within one in the final minute of play, but could not close the gap.

The Huskies (4-3), who led by seven early in the second half, and by five with 12:16 remaining, could not withstand an 18-4 run by the visiting Black Bears (2-4). Justin Edwards scored seven of his career-high 30 points during the Maine run. Northeastern responded with a 12-4 run over the game's final four minutes, but the margin proved too large to overcome.

Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) score 19 points to lead Northeastern. Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) posted his third career double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added 14 and Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) registered a career-high 12 points to give NU four players in double figures for the second time this season. Ford also collected eight rebounds.

For the Black Bears, Edwards' 30 points led all scorers. The sophomore guard was impressive, connecting on 11-of-12 shot attempts and 7-of-10 free-throw opportunities. Alasdair Fraser scored 20 points to join Edwards in double figures.

The Huskies, who had won 11 of their previous 13 games when leading at the half, held a five-point advantage at the break. NU scored quickly to open the second half, but Maine rattled off seven straight points to even the score, 42-42, less than two minutes into the half.

Smith then scored the next 11 NU points over a four-and-a-half minute stretch to give the Huskies a 55-52 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining. The senior guard bookended the personal run with his trademark 3-pointer, the second of which moved him past Chaisson Allen into third place on the Northeastern career list.

Maine, though, stifled the home squad, limiting NU to just four points over the next seven-plus minutes to turn a three-point deficit into a game-high 11 point advantage. Two free throws by Ford cut the margin to nine with 4:43 to go, but the Black Bears quickly responded with a layup.

Trailing by 11 as the clock ticked under 4:00, the Huskies—as they've done repeatedly this season—made one final, furious charge. Ford hit two more free throws. A minute later, Pollard added two charity shots of his own. Fraser made one of two at the line for Maine, followed by two Walker freebies and a layup by Smith and, all of a sudden, the home team was within four with two minutes to play.

After running down the clock, Edwards drew a foul and made one of two for the visitors. Ford then connected on a 3-pointer that closed the gap to two. Pollard made one of two at the line 35 seconds later to cut the lead to just one with 45 ticks remaining. The Huskies collected a steal 20 seconds later but mishandled the ball in transition, leading to a breakaway layup for Maine and a three-point Black Bears advantage with 18 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Huskies worked through the offense and, with time expiring, Smith spotted Ford for an open look at a 3-pointer from the left wing that just rimmed out at the buzzer.

In the first half, both teams were slow to find their offense, combining for just five points over the first three minutes. Ford and Spencer then joined for six straight points to give NU an 8-5 lead just under five minutes into the game.

Neither team was able to create much distance in a half that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes. Midway through the half, the Black Bears used back-to-back 3-pointers to turn a two-point deficit into a four point lead—their largest lead of the half. NU responded with six straight points to retake the lead. The Huskies limited Maine to just two points over the final 3:19 of the half to take a 40-35 lead into the break.

For the game, Northeastern shot 41 percent (25-61), but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 22 percent of its attempts (4-18). The Huskies also left points on the free throw line, making just 19-of-28 (68 percent). Maine, meanwhile, shot 59 percent (29-49) from the floor, and was a remarkable 76 percent (16-21) in the second half. The Black Bears, who entered the game shooting just 19 percent from long range, made 37 percent (6-16) of their shots from distance. The visitors also struggled a bit at the charity stripe, making just 12 of 19 attempts (63 percent). The Black Bears out-rebounded the Huskies, 35-32. NU committed a season-low nine turnovers.

The Huskies will return to action on Tuesday when they welcome intrastate foe Massachusetts to Matthews Arena at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at GoNU.com/tickets.

Game notes
> Joel Smith made two 3-pointers to move past Chaisson Allen into third place on the Northeastern career list with 181
> Smith has made at least one 3-pointer in 56 of NU's last 59 games
> Reggie Spencer posted his third career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds)
> Demetrius Pollard posted a career high with 12 points
> Northeastern scored 70 points for just the second time this season (vs. Belmont 74; vs. Maine 73)
> Northeastern surrendered 70 points for just the second time this season (Belmont 71; Maine 76)
> NU achieved a season low for turnovers (9), while forcing a season high for an opponent (19)