Box Score
WATCH: Post-game press conference

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Northeastern entered Thursday's game against Georgetown a decided underdog — and an undersized one, at that. The Huskies, though, were undaunted and raced back from a 14-point second-half deficit to upset the Hoyas, 63-56, in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.

Junior forward Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) tied a career high with 18 points to lead all scorers. Spencer also grabbed nine rebounds, while front-court mate Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) posted his third double-double in four games with 12 points and 10 boards. Freshman T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas) came off the bench to tally 10 points and sophomore David Walker (Stow, Ohio) went the distance, scoring 12 points in 40 minutes of action.

Trailing 40-26 with less than 18 minutes remaining, Northeastern (2-2) ripped off a 14-0 run over a six-minute span to tie the game.

"We never had doubt," Spencer said of the team's belief it could defeat the favored Hoyas. "In the beginning, we might have played a little timid, but after we got the nerves out, we were good to go."

The Huskies then erased a three-point deficit with four minutes remaining by outscoring the Hoyas 12-2 to close the game.

Facing a Georgetown roster with five players taller than the tallest Husky, NU won the battle of the boards (36-32) and outscored the Hoyas in the paint (34-26).

"We knew how big they were, we knew we had to use our quickness to get around them," Eatherton said after the game. "I got in foul trouble in the beginning of the game, so it was more of a team effort. Our guards helped us rebound and were right there pinching on their big guys."

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led Georgetown (1-2) with 14 points. He was the only Hoya to score in double figures as Northeastern's zone defense frustrated Georgetown into 36-percent shooting, including just 19 percent from beyond the arc.

The game got off to a precarious beginning for the upstart team from Boston. Northeastern turned the ball over four times, fouled three times, and managed just one shot over the first three minutes to fall behind 9-0.

Sophomore Zach Stahl came off the bench to register the first points for the Huskies on a jumper at the 16:48 mark. Williams and Spencer sandwiched three made free throws around a Nate Lubick layup to close the margin to six. The Hoyas pushed the lead back to 10 before Eatherton, playing with two fouls, scored five straight to narrow the gap to five, 15-10, with 10:12 to play in the half.

The Hoyas led by five to eight points for much of the remainder of the half, before carrying an 11-point advantage into the locker room, 36-25.

Georgetown started the second half quickly, scoring four of the first five points to open a 14-point bulge, 40-26, with 17:51 remaining in the game. That's when Coen's Cardiac Canines went to work.

Eatherton hit a jumper and a layup to bookend four straight Walker points and launch the comeback. Williams then got in on the action, hitting two from the line before slicing through the Georgetown defense in transition to finish at the rim. The Texan's layup cut the lead to two and brought the vocal Northeastern contingent to its feet. After the Huskies forced a Hoyas turnover, Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.) was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He hit two of three to cap a 14-0 run that leveled the score at 40-40 with 11:53 remaining.

Three times over the next five minutes, Georgetown took the lead. And each time, Spencer and Eatherton had an answer. Northeastern finally broke through for its first lead when Peck picked off a Lubick pass at the top of the key and went the distance for the dunk and a 48-46 Huskies' lead.

The teams traded points until a Reggie Cameron tip-in and Smith-Rivera layup gave GU a 54-51 lead with just over four minutes remaining.

The squad from Boston, though, would not be denied.

Northeastern stifled Georgetown the rest of the way, allowing just two Hoya points over the final four minutes to close the game on a 12-2 run. Walker started the run with a jumper and Spencer slammed the door shut with a thunderous dunk with seven seconds remaining to give Northeastern one of its defining wins of the last two decades.

For the game, Northeastern shot 45 percent (21-47) from the floor, 20 percent (1-5) from beyond the arc, and 61 percent (20-33) from the line. The NU defense limited Georgetown to 36 percent (18-50) shooting from the floor, and 19 percent (3-16) from long range. The Hoyas connected on 17-of-28 free throws (61 percent). The scrappier Huskies out-rebounded the taller Hoyas, 36-32.

Northeastern will face Charlotte on Friday at 2:30 p.m. (ET) in the second round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The 49ers defeated Kansas State, 68-61, in the first round to advance. The game will be televised live on ESPNU. NU and Charlotte faced each other last season in the Great Alaska Shootout title game. The meeting will be the fourth in the all-time series.


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