Box Score
WATCH: Postgame press conference

TOWSON, Md. — The Northeastern Huskies seized sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association on Saturday with a 70-59 victory at Towson. Senior co-captain Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) scored a game-high 21 points as the Huskies (9-7, 4-0 CAA) erased an early 12-point deficit to improve to 4-0 in conference play. With the victory, head coach Bill Coen became just the fourth coach in program history to win 100 career games.

Towson (8-9, 3-1 CAA), which entered the day riding a four-game winning streak, had the hot hand early. The Tigers made 11 of their first 19 shots and raced to a 12-point lead by the midway point of the first half. The Huskies responded with a 13-0 run, and the NU defense stiffened, limiting Towson to just 36 percent shooting over the game's final 28 minute. NU closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a six-point halftime lead. In the second half, the Red and Black engineered a 9-2 run, holding Towson scoreless for more than six minutes, to build a 10-point lead. Minutes later, a 6-0 NU run pushed the advantage to 16 and the Huskies never looked back.

Points off of turnovers proved to be a key statistical difference on the day. The Huskies scored 26 points off 19 Towson turnovers, while the Tigers managed just two points off only nine NU miscues.

For Smith, it was the seventh time this season he has scored 20 or more points in a game. He hit three 3-pointers, was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line, handed out a game-high and career-best six assists, and equaled a game-best with two steals. Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) joined Smith in double figures with 10 points. Dinko Marshavelski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) scored eight points in 12 minutes, followed by Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.), Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.), and Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) with seven each, Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) with six, and Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) and David Walker (Stow, Ohio) with two apiece. Lee added four assists and two steals, while Walker dished three assists and Stahl collected two steals.

Towson's season scoring leader Jerrelle Benimon tallied a team-high 17 points, while Bilal Dixon and Jerome Hairston also registered double figures with 12 points each. Benimon grabbed 11 rebounds to achieve a double-double, while Marcus Damas pulled down a game-high 12 caroms, but was limited to less than half his scoring average, chipping in five points.

The Huskies, who led 39-33 at the break courtesy of an explosive 10-0 run to close the first half, opened the second-half scoring on a well-executed play that freed Smith for a layup. Towson answered with consecutive baskets and, following a Spencer layup, a 3-pointer from Damas trimmed the lead to just three, 43-40, just three minutes into the half.

Damas' basket, though, was the Tigers' last for more than six minutes, as the NU defense forced six missed shots and four turnovers.

While the Huskies defense was holding Towson in check, NU's Marshavelski went on a personal 6-0 run, with a transition layup sandwiched between two solid finishes in the post. His basket at 13:09 pushed the visitors' lead to 49-40.

After more than two minutes of scoreless action, Benimon scored in the paint to end the Towson drought. Pollard quickly answered for Northeastern with a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to double digits, 52-42, with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Just over two minutes later, with the lead still at 10 (55-54), NU pieced together a 6-0 run to take a commanding 16-point lead and put the game out of reach. Walker hit two free throws and Marshavelski and Stahl each converted layups during the run.

Northeastern converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final four minutes to maintain a comfortable advantage and allowed the Tigers to get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

In the first half, a 3-pointer by Lee gave NU an early 5-2 lead, but Towson responded with a 9-0 run to grab an 11-5 edge less than four minutes into the game. The advantage swelled to 12 — 25-13 — at the 8:16 mark behind 58-percent shooting for the home team compared to just 28 percent for the visitors.

Banegas-Flores hit a transition layup off a Spencer steal to ignite a 13-0 Northeastern run. Smith hit a jumper and a 3-pointer, Ford followed with a three, and Smith added another triple to give NU a 26-25 edge with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

Towson then scored six of the next seven points to regain a four-point advantage, but NU was undaunted. After Ford and TU's Hairston traded baskets, the Huskies blitzed the Tigers with a 10-0 run to close the half and take a 39-33 lead at the break. Smith had a hand in eight of the 10 points during the run. The Texas native hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, then assisted on a layup by Stahl. On the next possession, Ford dialed in from deep, with Smith again providing the helper, before Stahl hit another layup in the final seconds to cap the run.

For the game, Northeastern shot 46 percent (25-54), including 50 percent (8-16) from 3-point range and 75 percent (12-16) from the free throw line. Towson was 44 percent (24-55) from the floor, 25 percent (6-24) from beyond the arc, and 56 percent (5-9) from the charity stripe. The Tigers out-rebounded the Huskies, 37-27. In specialty stats, NU held an advantage in points in the paint (32-24), points off of turnovers (26-2), fast break points (6-4) and bench points (24-6). Towson owned an edge in second-chance points (14-10).

NU will return to action on Wednesday, when Hofstra visits historic Matthews Arena. The Huskies swept the season series from the Pride last year. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available at GoNU.com/tickets.

Game notes
> Northeastern is 4-0 in CAA play for the first time since 2008-09 and for the second time since joining the conference in 2005
> With the win, head coach Bill Coen became just the fourth coach in the 93-year history of the program to win 100 games at NU
> Joel Smith scored 21 points and now has scored 20 or more points in seven games this season and 14 games in his career; he has scored in double figures in 12 games this season and 53 games in his career
> Quincy Ford scored 10 points and has registered double figures in 12 games this season and 31 games in his career
> Smith set a new career high with six assists
> Demetrius Pollard is shooting 61 percent (8-13) from 3-point range in CAA play after hitting just 28 percent (8-29) in non-conference action
> Northeastern held Towson 23 points below its CAA scoring average; the Tigers were averaging 82.3 ppg in CAA games
> NU improved to 5-1 in true road games this season, including 3-0 in CAA road games
> Northeastern improved to 3-0 when holding an opponent to 59 or fewer points
> NU now is 5-0 in games when it shoots 47 percent or better from 3-point range