Box Score

RICHMOND, Va., March 3, 2012—Northeastern freshman Quincy Ford scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, but the Huskies could not overcome a second-half surge by VCU in a 75-65 loss in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday night in Richmond, Va.

Playing in front of a sold-out, largely-partisan VCU crowd, Northeastern rallied from an eight-point first-half deficit to draw even after the first 20 minutes. Behind a smothering full-court press, the Rams raced out to a 21-point second-half lead. But as they had done all season long, the Huskies refused to quit. The Red and Black twice pulled to within eight points late in the game but could get no closer.

Junior co-captain Joel Smith scored 17 points and connected on three 3-pointers to move into a fifth-place tie on the Northeastern career list. Fellow junior co-captain Jonathan Lee scored 16 points, while Alwayne Bigby added six, Reggie Spencer five and Demetrius Pollard four for Northeastern (14-17, 9-9 CAA). Ford's double-double was his second of the season.

Rob Brandenberg scored a game-high 19 points to lead three Rams in double-figures. Treveon Graham tallied 16 and Bradford Burgess added 10 for VCU (26-6, 15-3). The hot-handed Rams hit 6-of-10 3-point attempts over the first 12 minutes of the second half.

In the first half, VCU broke open an early defensive struggle to take an 11-3 lead just over five minutes into the game. The Rams pushed the lead to nine on three occasions and were up eight, 26-18, with 6:16 remaining in the half. Smith and Ford combined to score 14 of NU's first 18 points to keep the Huskies within striking distance.

With momentum on VCU's side, and the Richmond Coliseum crowd in full-throat, the Huskies' defense bore down, holding the Rams scoreless over the final 6:16 of the half. Northeastern closed the half on an 8-0 run to send the teams to the locker rooms tied, 26-26.

VCU opened the second half with a 10-2 burst, as Ford accounted for the Huskies' only points, to take a 36-28 lead just three minutes into the half. Following a Northeastern timeout, Reggie Spencer converted a traditional three-point play to narrow the margin to five.

The Rams then scored four straight points to push the lead to nine, before Lee connected on a three from the left wing and, following a Graham basket, hit two free throws to draw the Huskies to within six, 42-36, with 14 minutes remaining.

VCU, though, responded with smothering full-court pressure and timely shooting to open up a game-high 21-point lead, 64-43, with 7:24 to play. During that six-minute stretch, the Rams forced four Huskies' turnovers and went a remarkable 5-for-5 from 3-point range.

A determined Northeastern squad made one final, gritty push. Two Ford free throws jump-started the run. Smith connected on a 3-pointer, Bigby hit a jumper, Ford converted a lay-up and Pollard nailed a jumper to cap an 11-3 Northeastern run to narrow the gap to 13 at 67-54.

The Huskies continued to make a run at the Rams. Smith made two free throws, Ford added a free throw of his own, Pollard connected on another jumper and Lee finished an acrobatic lay-in to make it a nine-point game, 70-61, and bring the coliseum crowd to the edge of its seats with 1:19 remaining. After a quick foul and one made free throw by VCU's Briante Weber, Lee converted another twisting lay-up to make it an eight-point game with 70 seconds left. VCU though made 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to hold off Northeastern's comeback bid.

For the game, Northeastern shot 51.1 percent (23-45) to VCU's 45.6 percent (26-57). The Huskies were 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the arc, compared to 45.0 percent (9-20) for the Rams. VCU hit 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from long range in the decisive second half. The Huskies made 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) free throw attempts, while the Rams went 14-for-31 (45.2 percent) from the charity stripe. The rebounding battle was even, with both teams grabbing 32 boards. VCU scored 25 points off 25 Northeastern turnovers, while the Huskies converted 11 Rams' miscues into 11 points.

The game concluded a season that saw four Huskies recognized with conference honors. Jonathan Lee was named to the All-CAA Third Team, while teammate Quincy Ford was named to the All-Rookie squad. Lee also earned All-Academic Second Team honors and sophomore Ryan Pierson was named All-Academic Honorable Mention. Joel Smith also was honored as a nominee for the coveted Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.

Head Coach Bill Coen's squad compiled a 9-9 CAA mark to finish two spots ahead of its predicted finish in the preseason poll. Since joining the CAA, Northeastern has suffered only one losing season in conference play. The Huskies' appearance in this year's quarterfinal round was their sixth in seven seasons. Coen now ranks as one of the 10 winningest coaches in CAA history and is one of only three active coaches to have reached that mark.

GAME NOTES
> CAA All-Rookie selection Quincy Ford led the Huskies in scoring for the second-consecutive game; Ford averaged 17.5 points over the CAA Tournament
> Ford scored in double-figures for the 19th time on the season and for the 15th time in the last 19 games
> With 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, Ford posted his second-career double-double (Jan. 14 vs. William & Mary - 13 points, 10 rebounds)
> Joel Smith made three 3-pointers to move into a fifth-place tie on the Northeastern career list (tied with Marcus Barnes, 2003-05)
> Smith made multiple threes in 20 games this season and at least one 3-pointer in 50 of the last 53 games
> Smith scored 17 points for his sixth-straight double-digit effort and ninth in the last 10 games
> Jonathan Lee scored in 16 points and now has scored in double-figures in 39 of the last 43 games
> Northeastern's lone senior, Kashief Edwards, concluded his Northeastern career; the Philadelphia, Pa., native played in all 31 games this season and averaged 5.5 points per game
> Northeastern's 25 turnovers were the most since Dec. 31, 2008 at Memphis (also 25)