FAIRFAX, Va. — The Northeastern Huskies will open Colonial Athletic Association play on Thursday night at George Mason in a game to be televised nationally by NBC Sports Network. Tipoff at the Patriot Center is set for 7 p.m.
The Huskies (5-7) have won three of the last five games in the series, including a thrilling 85-82 overtime affair last season in Boston. Mason (7-5) holds a slight 10-9 lead in the all-time series.
NBC Sports Network will broadcast the game live to a national audience, with Todd Harris and Ron Thompson on the call. The NBC Sports TV listing and channel finder can be found
HERE.
WRBB Radio also will carry the game live. Ben Horner and David Kroopnick will call the action on 104.9 FM and
WRBBsports.com.
Storylines
> Northeastern and George Mason will meet for the 20th time in series history; Mason leads the series, 10-9, but NU has won three of the last five meetings, including an 85-82 overtime affair on Feb. 22, 2012, in Boston
> Sophomore
Quincy Ford posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds at UAB; he has scored in double figures nine times this season and ranks among the top 20 in the CAA in scoring and rebounding
> Senior co-captain
Jonathan Lee has scored in double digits in all three games and is averaging 15.0 ppg since returning from a preseason foot injury
> Sophomore
Reggie Spencer scored 13 points at UAB; he has tallied double figures in nine games this season and leads the CAA in FG percentage (.585)
> Senior co-captain
Joel Smith leads NU and ranks fifth in the CAA in scoring (16.7 ppg) and leads the league with 32 3-pointers
Scouting the teams
NORTHEASTERN
Sophomore standout
Quincy Ford collected his fourth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday at UAB. Classmate
Reggie Spencer added 13 points for his ninth double-figure game of the season and senior
Jonathan Lee tallied 11 for his third double-digit performance in three games since returning from a preseason foot injury. Senior
Joel Smith leads the team and ranks fifth in the CAA in scoring at 16.7 ppg. Ford, at 7.3 rpg, is the top rebounder for seventh-year head coach
Bill Coen, while Lee leads the team in assists at 5.0 apg. Smith is the CAA's top 3-point shooter (32 3FGM), while, as a team, the Huskies rank second in the league in threes per game.
GEORGE MASON
George Mason enters Thursday's game at 7-5 on the season. The Patriots, who suffered a narrow 61-57 loss at USF in their last outing, have won five of their last eight games, including victories over Richmond, UMBC, Rhode Island, Boston University and Quinnipiac. Junior Sherrod Wright leads Mason in scoring at 17.3 ppg and has scored 20 or more points in four straight games. He's followed by Johnny Williams at 7.7 ppg. Erik Copes leads the team in rebounding at 5.4 rpg. Points have been difficult to come by for opponents, as Mason is surrendering just 61.1 ppg, which leads the CAA. Second-year head coach Paul Hewitt is 18-2 at home during his tenure in Fairfax.
Lee named national finalist for Senior CLASS Award
Northeastern men's basketball senior
Jonathan Lee has been selected as a candidate for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate basketball. Lee, a graphic design major from Flint, Mich., is one of just 30 candidates nationally. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence—community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Double down
Northeastern players have posted five double-doubles this season in four games. Most recently, sophomore standout
Quincy Ford turned the trick, registering 14 points and 10 rebounds at UAB on Dec. 29. It was Ford's second double-double of the season and the fourth of his career. Ford and fellow sophomore
Reggie Spencer lead NU in career double-doubles with four each, followed by senior co-captains
Jonathan Lee and
Joel Smith, who each have two.
NU double-doubles this season
Reggie Spencer (16 pts., 10 rebs.) Nov. 28, Maine
Quincy Ford (14 pts., 10 rebs.) Dec. 4, UMass
Jonathan Lee (15 pts., 12 rebs.) Dec. 21, at CCSU
Reggie Spencer (15 pts., 10 rebs.) Dec. 21, at CCSU
Quincy Ford (14 pts., 10 rebs.) Dec. 29, at UAB
Smith hits 1,000 in 100
Senior sharpshooter
Joel Smith became the 31st player in Northeastern history to reach the 1,000-point mark, accomplishing the feat on Dec. 21 in the Huskies' 82-63 victory at Central Connecticut. The game was his 100th career game at NU. He reached the milestone on a layup at the 17:09 mark of the first half, for two of his game-high 27 points. Smith is the fifth player to reach 1,000 points during head coach
Bill Coen's seven-year tenure, joining Matt Janning, Chaisson Allen, Manny Adako and Bennet Davis.
Welcome back, Jon
Senior co-captain
Jonathan Lee, who missed the first nine games of the season with a foot injury suffered in preseason practice, has wasted little time reasserting himself as one of the CAA's premier point guards. The Flint, Mich., native has scored in double digits in all three games and is averaging 15.0 ppg since returning to the lineup. He scored 19 points on 58 percent shooting, handed out five assists and logged 31 minutes of playing time in his debut performance against UNC Asheville. Three days later, against Central Connecticut, the 6-2 senior posted his second career double-double, with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, along with seven assists. Most recently, he registered 11 points, five rebounds and three assists against UAB.
Double is trouble, but twice as nice
Senior co-captain
Jonathan Lee and sophomore standout
Reggie Spencer both notched double-doubles in NU's 82-63 win at Central Connecticut on Dec. 21. Lee scored 15 points and pulled down a career and game-high 12 rebounds, to go along with seven assists. Spencer scored 15 points, grabbed 10 boards, and tied a career high with four assists. It was the first time two NU players recorded double-doubles in a single game since Spencer and
Joel Smith accomplished the feat on Nov. 11, 2011, in a season-opening win over Boston University.
1,000-point watch
Senior co-captain
Jonathan Lee is on pace to join fellow senior co-captain
Joel Smith in the 1,000-point club. Smith accomplished the feat on Dec. 21 in NU's 82-63 win at Central Connecticut. Lee would become the 32nd player in program history to record 1,000 points.
Lee point watch
Jonathan Lee 77 games 875 points
Limited pine time
NU's Dec. 29 game against UAB was the 101st game of
Joel Smith's career. The Leander, Texas, native has appeared in 79 straight games, dating back to Feb. 23, 2010, and has made 58 consecutive starts, dating to Jan. 15, 2011. He has played in all but six games since arriving on Huntington Avenue in 2009, with all six missed games coming in his freshman season. The program record for career games is 128, achieved by Andre LaFleur (1983-87), Wes Fuller (1983-87) and Matt Janning (2006-10).
Shooting star
Sophomore standout
Reggie Spencer currently leads the CAA in field goal percentage, making an impressive 58.5 percent (55-94) of his attempts. The forward from Tuscaloosa, Ala., has scored in double figures in nine of 12 games this season and has posted two double-doubles.
Coen's Countdown to 100: 4
Now in his seventh season, head coach
Bill Coen is just four wins shy of becoming just the fourth coach in the program's 93-year history to win 100 games at NU. Coen collected his 96th win in the Huskies' victory at Central Connecticut on Dec. 21.
NU's 100-game winners
Dick Dukeshire - 204-100 (.671) - 1958-71, 13 years
Jim Calhoun - 250-137 (.646) - 1972-86, 14 years
Karl Fogel - 131-103 (.560) - 1986-94, 8 years
Oh, so close
After racing out to a 4-1 start and matching the program record for wins in the month of November, Northeastern stumbled, dropping five straight game. The Huskies, though, were mere points away from a dramatically different record. The five losses were by an average margin of just 5.0 points, with four of the five being by six points or fewer.
Stay connected
Northeastern Athletics: @GoNUathletics // facebook.com/GoNUathletics
Northeastern Men's Basketball: @GoNUmbasketball // facebook.com/GoNUmbasketball
Join the conversation
Fans and members of the media are encouraged to use #GoNU in tweets to join the Twitter conversation.
Win rewards with Huskies Ncentives
Northeastern has a new rewards program that lets you earn points and win great prizes just by doing the online social activities you do everyday. Go to GoNU.com/Ncentives for more information.
Up next
Northeastern will return to Matthews Arena for the first time since Dec. 18 when it hosts UNC Wilmington in a CAA match-up on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. The Huskies lost to the Seahawks, 70-62, last season in Boston, but lead the all-time series, 6-4. .
