BOSTON—The Northeastern Huskies will return to action on Saturday when they host CAA foe UNCW at Matthews Arena at 1 p.m. Last time out, Northeastern scored 54 second-half points to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat George Mason, 84-74, on Thursday night in Fairfax, Va., before a national TV audience.
Saturday's game will feature free admission for all Northeastern faculty and staff and their families and friends, and the day will include free lunch and games for the kids. "The Spot," a fan favorite, also will return and will feature food and a cash bar on the arena-floor level.
Senior co-captain
Joel Smith will be honored in a brief ceremony just before tip-off for becoming the 31st player in NU history to score 1,000 career points. Smith accomplished the feat on Dec. 21 in the Huskies' 82-63 win at Central Connecticut.
Tickets for the game are available online at
GoNU.com/tickets. Northeastern students can reserve their tickets on myNEU.
Fans unable to attend the game can catch all the action live in high definition at
GoNU.com/xstream. WRBB radio also will carry the game live on 104.9 FM and
WRBBsports.com.
Storylines
> NU and UNCW will meet for the 11th time in series history on Saturday; NU leads the series, 6-4, and has won five of the last six head-to-head meetings
> Playing before a national television audience, Northeastern poured in 54 second-half points to beat George Mason, 84-74, Thursday night in Fairfax;
Jonathan Lee scored a game-high 20 points, while
Quincy Ford tallied 18 and freshman
Zach Stahl added a career-high 15, all in the second half
>
Jonathan Lee notched his ninth career 20-point game on Thursday; he has scored in double figures in every game this season since returning from a preseason injury
>
Quincy Ford scored in double digits on Thursday for the fourth consecutive game and the 10th time in 13 games this season
> NU's
Reggie Spencer leads the CAA in field goal percentage (.586), while
Joel Smith ranks first in the league in free throw percentage (.837) and 3-point field goals made (2.5/game)
Scouting the teams
NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern scored 54 second-half points to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat George Mason, 84-74, on Thursday night in Fairfax, Va., before a national TV audience. It was Mason's first home CAA loss since Feb. 27, 2010, which also came at the hands of the Huskies.
Jonathan Lee is averaging 16.3 ppg to lead four Huskies in double figures.
Joel Smith—the CAA's leading 3-point threat—is averaging 16.0 ppg, followed by
Quincy Ford (13.0 ppg) and
Reggie Spencer (11.5 ppg). Spencer leads the CAA in field goal percentage (.586). Ford leads the team and ranks ninth in the CAA in rebounding (7.1 rpg).
UNCW
UNCW enters Saturday's game fresh off a 79-74 home loss to Towson to open CAA play. The Seahawks have lost four of their last five games and are still searching for their first win away from Trask Coliseum (0-7). Keith Rendleman has been impressive for third-year head coach Buzz Peterson. The 6-8 senior forward is averaging a double-double, with 16.0 ppg and 10.5 rpg. On Wednesday, he tied a school record with 21 rebounds. UNCW ranks last in the CAA in scoring offense (60.8) but in the top half of the league in field goal percentage defense (.437) and second in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.356).
Surging Stahl answers the call
Freshman forward
Zach Stahl poured in 10 of NU's 13 points during a decisive three-minute stretch late in the second half on Thursday to lead the Huskies to a comeback win at George Mason. Stahl, a native of Chanhassen, Minn., registered all of his career-high 15 points in the second half.
High-scoring half
Northeastern poured in 54 second-half points on 64 percent field goal shooting on Thursday at George Mason to secure a come-from-behind victory. The 54-point performance was the third-best ever by NU in a half against a CAA opponent and the fifth 50-plus point half under
Bill Coen.
Happy New Year
Northeastern's 84-74 win at George Mason marked the fourth time in five years that NU has opened the month of January with a CAA win.
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 four games and is averaging a team-leading 16.3 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. He followed that up by registering 11 points, five rebounds and three assists against UAB, and a game-high 20 points on 61-percent shooting in a win at George Mason.
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.
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
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 78 games 895 points
Limited pine time
NU's Jan. 3 game against George Mason was the 102nd game of
Joel Smith's career. The Leander, Texas, native has appeared in 80 straight games, dating back to Feb. 23, 2010, and has made 59 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).
Coen's Countdown to 100: 3
Now in his seventh season, head coach
Bill Coen is just three wins shy of becoming just the fourth coach in the program's 93-year history to win 100 games at NU. Coen collected his 97th win in the Huskies' victory at George Mason on Jan. 3.
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
Coen ranks among best in career CAA wins
Bill Coen earned his 64th career CAA win in the Huskies' 84-74 win at George Mason on Jan. 3. Coen is currently ninth on the CAA's list of all-time winningest coaches. He is one of just three current CAA coaches to have cracked the top 10.
Winningest coaches in CAA play (CAA regular season and tournament games only)
1. Jim Larranaga (George Mason, 1998-2011) 183
2. Blaine Taylor (ODU, 2002-present) 148
3. Bruiser Flint (Drexel, 2002-present) 129
4. Dick Tarrant (Richmond, 1982-93) 106
5. Tom Pecora (Hofstra, 2002-10) 98
5. Charles “Lefty” Driesell (JMU, 1988-97) 98
7. Jerry Wainwright (UNCW, 1995-2002) 97
8. Jeff Capel, Jr. (ODU, 1995-2001) 77
9.
Bill Coen (Northeastern, 2006-present) 64
10. Brad Brownell (UNCW, 2003-06) 61
Shooting star
Sophomore standout
Reggie Spencer currently leads the CAA in field goal percentage, making an impressive .586 percent of his attempts. The forward from Tuscaloosa, Ala., has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games this season and has posted two double-doubles.
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Up next
Northeastern will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday to face the Drexel Dragons. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be carried live on the Comcast family of networks. .
