Box Score   |  Game highlights

BOSTON – Junior Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa.) notched his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Northeastern men's basketball team could not overcome Harvard's 57-percent shooting performance in a 72-64 defeat on Wednesday night at Matthews Arena.

Trailing by 11 with just over nine minutes remaining, Northeastern (2-6) twice whittled the deficit to six, but could not get any closer as Harvard (8-1) made six of its last seven shots to close out the game.

Eatherton led three Huskies in double-figure scoring. Junior Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) scored 16 points, while sophomore David Walker (Stow, Ohio) chipped in 12 points, six assists and three steals. Freshman T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas) added eight points and junior Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) contributed a season-high five points off the bench.

Kyle Casey and Wesley Saunders paced the Crimson (8-1) with 17 points each, while Siyani Chambers added eight points and a game-high eight assists.

The Huskies (2-6) were outrebounded for the second straight game, 31-30, and shot just 12-of-23 (57 percent) from the free throw line.

Harvard made seven of its first nine shots from the floor, including a 5-for-5 start, to open up a 19-14 lead at the 10:36 mark of the first half.

A pair of buckets by Spencer cut the deficit to one, before the Huskies forced a turnover and took their first lead of the game, 20-19, on a layup by Williams with 7:56 left in the frame.

A basket by Eatherton pushed Northeastern's lead to three at 22-19, but a subsequent 9-0 run by the Crimson swung the momentum back in favor of the visitors.

The Huskies had a chance to pull within one in the final seconds of the first half, but Williams' fade-away jumper rimmed out and led to a buzzer-beating transition dunk by Saunders that gave Harvard a 34-29 advantage at the break.

Northeastern stayed within striking distance over the first six minutes of the second half, pulling within three at 44-41 after a 3-pointer by Walker with 13:29 to play.

But again the Crimson had an answer. A contested 3-pointer by Chambers highlighted a 10-2 Harvard run that put the visitors ahead, 54-43, with just over nine minutes remaining.

The Huskies shaved the deficit to six, 55-49, on a steal and layup by Banegas-Flores with 6:20 left, but Harvard was able to stem the tide and close out the game for its fourth straight win.

The Huskies return to action on Saturday, Dec.  7, when they welcome UAB to Matthews Arena for a 7 p.m. tip-off. For ticket information, visit GoNU.com/tickets.


Game Notes
> Eatherton posted his sixth double-double in eight games this season; he has 12 career double-doubles
> Spencer scored in double-figures for the fourth time in the last five games
> Eatherton has scored at least 17 points in five of eight games this season
> Eatherton tied a season high with three blocks
> Walker tied a career high with six assists; the sophomore has now posted six helpers three times in his career
> Harvard snapped a two-game slide against Northeastern, defeating the Huskies for the first time since Nov. 27, 2004
> Northeastern announced following the game that junior Quincy Ford will undergo back surgery on a lumbar disk and will miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season

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