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BOSTON, Mass., Feb. 1, 2012--The Northeastern men's basketball team dropped a 61-53 decision to visiting Drexel on Wednesday night at Matthews Arena. The Huskies, who led early in the second half, fell victim to an 18-5 Drexel run and could never recover.

Leading 29-27 with just over 16 minutes remaining in the game, Northeastern managed just five points over the next seven minutes. Drexel capitalized, scoring 18 points during the span to build an 11-point advantage. The Huskies closed to within four in the game's final minutes but could get no closer. With the loss, the Huskies are now 11-11 on the season and 7-5 in CAA play.

Junior co-captain Jonathan Lee led Northeastern with 15 points to go with two rebounds, two assist and two steals. Reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Quincy Ford scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed a team-best four rebounds. Co-captain Joel Smith also scored in double figures, pitching in 11.

Rookie Damion Lee scored 25 for Drexel (18-5, 10-2), which extended its winning streak to 10 games. Lee also grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds. Frantz Massenat scored 12 points and dished a game-high seven assists.

After falling behind by as many as 10 points in the first half, Northeastern engineered a 12-4 run--capped by a Kashief Edwards buzzer-beater in transition--to close to within one at the half, 25-24. The Huskies maintained the momentum to open the second frame. On the half's first possession, Alwayne Bigby threaded a perfect pass to Reggie Spencer, whose dunk gave the home team its first lead since the game's opening moments. A free throw by Spencer on the ensuing Huskies' possession gave the home side a two point edge, 27-25.

After the Dragons' Lee tied the game, Smith connected on a jumper to return the lead to the Huskies with 16:19 showing on the clock. Points, though, proved hard to come by for the Huskies over the next seven minutes. Drexel pieced together an 18-5 run to build a game-high 11-point advantage with 9:15 remaining in the contest. Lay-ups by Kauri Black and Lee and a free throw by Edwards accounted for the Northeastern tallies. Massenat did much of the damage for the Dragons, scoring eight points during the run.

The Huskies, though, would not go quietly. Trailing by 10 with just over five minutes remaining, Lee connected on a jumper and Smith dunked in transition to narrow the gap to six. After a tip-in by Drexel's Lee, NU's Ford converted a traditional three-point play to ignite the partisan crowd and bring the home side to within five, 53-48, with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. After trading a series of free throws, the Huskies' sharp-shooting Smith drilled a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game with just over a minute to play. Drexel, though, was able to salt the game away at the free throw line.

In the first half, Northeastern grabbed the early lead, as Spencer connected on a 15-foot jumper on the team's first possession. Drexel quickly responded, rattling off 10 straight points to build an early eight-point cushion. The lead grew to 10 midway through the half before Northeastern's charge just before halftime.

Ford ignited the first-half rally with back-to-back 3-pointers. After a Samme Givens lay-up, Ford connected on another jumper, and teammate Lee made two free throws to bring the Red and Black to within one. Givens again scored for Drexel to push the lead back to three. Then, with time winding down, Ford blocked a Chris Fouch shot attempt that led to Edwards' floater in transition at the first half buzzer.

Damion Lee scored 10 first half points for Drexel, while Ford tallied nine points for the Huskies in the opening frame.

For the game, Northeastern shot 43.6 percent (17-39) from the floor and 38.5 percent (5-13) from 3-point range. The Huskies connected on 14-of-19 free throw attempts (73.7 percent). Drexel was 18-for-39 (46.2 percent) from the floor and shot 36.4 percent (4-11) from beyond the arc. The Dragons were hot from the charity stripe, shooting 84 percent (21-25). Drexel out-rebounded Northeastern, 28-18.

The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Richmond, Va., for a 7 p.m. game against VCU. The Rams are tied atop the CAA standings with a 10-2 league mark. VCU, which advanced to the Final Four last season, fell to the Huskies, 91-80, at Matthews Arena last year. Saturday's game will be televised live by the Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet-New England, and Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.

A full replay of the game can be viewed on ESPN3 at  http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/source/espn3/id/380117/


GAME NOTES
> Northeastern played in its red road uniforms to join the student section in a "Red Out"
> Jonathan Lee has scored in double figures in 31 of the last 34 games; he led the Huskies in scoring for the 13th time this season
> Reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Quincy Ford has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 16 games
> Joel Smith has made at least one 3-pointer in 41 of the last 44 games
> Northeastern lost for just the second time when holding an opponent to 61 or fewer points; the Huskies are 8-2 when doing so