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Northeastern University Athletics

Northeastern Huskies
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Men's Basketball

NU claims thrilling overtime win at Drexel; moves to 3-0 in CAA

Box Score
WATCH: Postgame press conference
WATCH: Game highlights, including Ford's last-second 3-pointer, from CSN Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Sophomore standout Quincy Ford hit a double-clutch 3-pointer from the right wing with 1.9 seconds remaining to force overtime as Northeastern defeated preseason CAA favorite Drexel, 63-58, on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. With the win, Northeastern improves to 3-0 in CAA play for just the second time since joining the conference in 2005.

Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) finished with 14 points and classmate Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) scored a team-high 17 points to lead the Huskies to their first win at Drexel since 2009. Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) added nine points, while Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) and David Walker (Stow, Ohio) chipped in with eight apiece and Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) with seven.

Frantz Massenat led Drexel (5-10, 1-2 CAA) with 19 points, followed by Tavon Allen with 15.

NU scored the final four points in regulation, including Ford's heroic 3-pointer, and the first four points of overtime on two Ford free throws and a Spencer basket and never again trailed. After struggling at the free throw line in regulation, going just 8-for-15, the Huskies were clutch, sinking 12 of 13 attempts in the extra period.

In a gritty, defensive battle, the Huskies clawed to a 24-23 halftime lead. Drexel, though, outscored NU 5-2 in the opening moments to take a 27-25 lead four minutes into the second half. NU evened the score at 29 just over three minutes later on a Spencer basket and two Walker free throws.

The Dragons' pressure then forced three NU turnovers in just over a minute of action to stake Drexel to a 33-29 lead midway through the half. The turnover spell was an anomaly for a Northeastern team that was solid with the basketball in the final 25 minutes of play. The Huskies committed nine first half turnovers, but had just five miscues in the second half and overtime.

With the Dragons gaining control of the game, Ford cooly drained a 3-pointer for NU to end a four-minute scoring drought and narrow the gap to just one, 33-32. Just over a minute later, Pollard connected on two free throws to give NU its first lead in more than nine minutes.

Northeastern pushed the lead to four, 40-36, with just over six minutes showing on the clock. Drexel, though, responded with a 6-1 run to regain the advantage, 42-41 at the 3:46 mark.

With the score unchanged, NU called a timeout with 2:25 remaining. Out of the timeout, on a well-executed out-of-bounds play, Smith found a cutting Spencer for a dunk to give the visitors the lead again.

Massenat, who carried Drexel for much of the night, wasted little time in responding. His 3-pointer swung the advantage back to the home side and, when Daryl McCoy tipped in a rebound just before the shot clock expired, the Dragons appeared to have the Huskies on the ropes, up four with a minute to play.

But Northeastern, which has erased second-half deficits in six of eight wins this season, remained poised. Pollard made one of two free throws to make it a one possession game. On the ensuing possession, a stout defensive effort forced a missed 3-pointer late in the shot clock to give NU one final chance. After running down the clock, Ford gathered the ball on the right wing and, under heavy pressure, nailed the double-clutch 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

In the first half, defense dominated, with the teams shooting a combined 25 percent (5-20) over the first eight minutes and Drexel claiming a slim 7-5 edge.

The Dragons pushed their lead to seven, 12-5, before Ford hit a jumper to end a nearly seven-minute scoring drought for the Huskies and stop a 10-0 Drexel run. Lee followed with a jumper on the next possession to pull the visitors within three.

Drexel again edged out, this time to a six point lead, 17-11, at 7:17. After two minutes of scoreless play, Spencer maneuvered along the baseline for a layup and Smith collected a steal that finished with a Walker dunk in transition to pull NU to within two, 17-15, and force a Drexel timeout at 4:33. From there, Northeastern outscored the Dragons 8-5 to close the half and take a 23-22 lead into the locker room.

For the game, Northeastern shot 38 percent (19-50), including 33 percent (5-15) from long range. The Huskies finished the night 71 percent from the line (20-28). Drexel shot 36 percent (20-55) from the floor, 43 percent (6-14) from beyond the arc, and 80 percent (12-15) from the charity stripe.

NU forced 21 Drexel turnovers, including 11 steals, and scored 21 points off turnovers. The Huskies committed 14 miscues, but only five in the second half and overtime.

Northeastern will return to action on Saturday when it travels to Towson. Tip-off is slated for noon.

Game notes
> Northeastern is 3-0 in CAA play for the first time since 2008-09, when they opened conference play 6-0, and for just the second time since joining the CAA in 2005
> The win snapped a six-game losing streak to Drexel; the Huskies previous win in the series came in Philadelphia on Feb. 25, 2009 (47-46)
> Quincy Ford hit a double-clutch 3-pointer with less than two seconds remaining to send the game to overtime
> Ford has scored in double figures in five of NU's last six games and 11 of 15 overall games this season
> Reggie Spencer scored in double figures for the 10th time in 15 games this season
> Jonathan Lee scored nine points to just miss double figures for the first time this season
> Northeastern made 12-of-13 free throws in overtime after struggling to just 8-of-15 at the line during regulation
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