Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Joel Smith scored a game-high 27 points and Jonathan Lee and Reggie Spencer posted double-doubles to lead Northeastern to a convincing 82-63 victory over Central Connecticut on Friday night in New Britain, Conn.

After leading by five at the half, NU broke the game open with an 11-0 run early in the second half, holding the Blue Devils scoreless for nearly five minutes. The win halted a five-game slide for the Huskies (5-6), who improved to 2-0 in road games this season.

Five NU players reached double figures in a balanced attack. Smith (Leander, Texas), who collected his 1,000th career point on a layup at the 17:09 mark of the first half, was joined by Lee (Flint, Mich.) and Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) with 15 apiece, Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) with 11, and Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) with 10. Dinko Marshavelski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) and Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) collected two points each to round out the scoring.

Lee pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to post his second career double-double in just his second game back from a preseason foot injury. Spencer followed with 10 caroms for his fourth career double-double effort, as NU owned a commanding 46-28 advantage on the boards. Lee added seven assists, while Spencer tied a career high with four assists.

Matt Hunter scored 22 points to lead CCSU, just one game after pouring in 40 points at No. 1 Indiana. The Huskies limited CCSU's leading scorer, Kyle Vinales, who ranks among the nation's top scorers, to just 10 points.

Dogged by slow starts early in the season, the Huskies were quick out of the gate. Spencer scored the game's first points and NU pushed to a five point lead less than four minutes in. The Blue Devils though, winners of four of their last six, responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 11-10, with 14:39 remaining. The squads settled in to a back-and-forth affair that included eight ties and six lead changes before a 7-2 spurt gave NU a 35-30 edge at the break.

With the margin still at five, 41-36, with 16:31 to play, Northeastern seized control of the game with an 11-0 run. NU held CCSU's potent offense scoreless for nearly five minutes during the run. Smith got things started with a traditional three-point play. Spencer hit a free throw and Lee added a layup before Smith dialed in from deep, hitting one of his game-high four 3-pointers. And, after Ford added two free throws, NU held a commanding 52-36 lead with 12:32 to play.

Brandon Peel hit a lay-in for the Blue Devils to end the run, but the Huskies' onslaught continued. Lee connected on a 3-pointer and Spencer and Smith each added two free throws to increase the NU advantage to 21, 59-38, with 9:17 to play.

Trailing by 20 at the five-minute mark, CCSU scored five straight points to climb within 15 before an 8-0 NU run put the game away. Stahl, a freshman forward, scored six of the Huskies' eight points during the run. Marshavelski added a floater and Pollard hit two free throws to help set the final margin at 82-63.

For the game, Northeastern connected on 51 percent (26-51) of its shot attempts, including 36 percent (5-14) from beyond the arc. The Huskies feasted at the free-throw line, going 25 of 34 (73 percent). Central Connecticut shot 39 percent (25-64) for the game, including 30 percent (8-27) from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils converted 56 percent (5-9) of their free throw attempts.

Northeastern will step away from competition for seven days over the holiday break before traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for its final non-conference game of the season. The Huskies will visit the UAB Blazers on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 2 p.m.

Game notes
> Northeastern scored a season-high 82 points — its highest point total since an 85-82 win over George Mason on Feb. 22, 2012
> Joel Smith scored a season-high 27 points — just two shy of his career high — and collected his 1,000th career point on a layup at the 17:09 mark of the first half; this was Smith's 100th career game; Smith is the 31st player in NU history to score 1,000 career points
> Jonathan Lee (15 points, 12 rebounds) posted his second career double-double; he added seven assists
> Reggie Spencer (15 points, 10 rebounds) posted his fourth career double-double and his second of the season; he also tied a career-high with four assists
> NU had two players record double-doubles in a single game for the first time since Spencer and Smith accomplished the feat on Nov. 11, 2011, in a season-opening win over Boston University
> NU held CCSU to its second-lowest point total of the season
> NU's rebounding total (46) was its highest since grabbing 50 boards at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 20, 2011