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BOSTON — With reigning CAA Player of the Week Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) sidelined with an injury, Northeastern dropped a disappointing overtime thriller to visiting Delaware, 76-74, on Wednesday night. Despite a game-high 23 points from Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) and 21 from Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the CAA-leading Huskies could not hold off the Blue Hens at historic Matthews Arena in a back and fourth dual between the conference's top two scoring offenses. Northeastern remains in first place at 12-2 in conference play and 17-9 overall.

Delaware (14-12, 9-4), which has now won six of its last seven games, was led by 20 points from Jarvis Threatt, whose contested 3-point shot from well beyond the arc with 12 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner.

Lee and Ford added six rebounds a piece in solid all-around performances, while sophomore Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) tallied eight points and five boards despite playing just 21 minutes before being fouled out. Freshmen David Walker (Stow, Ohio) and Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) added eight and seven points respectively, along with sophomore Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.), who chipped in with five and junior Dinko Marshavelski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), who had two points in four minutes before leaving the game with an injury. Pollard posted game and career highs with five steals and four assists.

Smith, who has played his way into CAA Player of the Year consideration, had appeared in 92 straight games and made 71 consecutive starts for the Huskies.

In one of the most closely-contested games of the year, neither team held a lead greater than three points over the final 17:41 of regulation. Northeastern grabbed a 67-65 led on a Stahl jumper with 34 second to play, but Devon Saddler knotted the game with a jumper with 14 seconds to play to send the game to overtime.

The Huskies established a 74-69 lead with 2:03 to play in the extra period, with Lee accounting for five of the seven NU points, but the Huskies were held scoreless the rest of the way. The Red and Black saw a solid defensive possession go for naught as Threatt hit a contested bomb from well behind the arc as the shot clock expired that capped a 7-0 UD run and put the final tally at 76-74. NU had one final shot, but a desperation three from Lee, surrounded by a host of UD defenders, fell short.

Northeastern shot 40 percent from the floor (24-60), 36 percent from long range (9-25) and 85 percent from the free throw line (17-20). Delaware hit 48 percent (28-58) of its attempts, including 29 percent (5-17) from beyond the arc. The Hens shot 62 percent (15-24) from the line. UD out-rebounded the Huskies, 38-30.

Trailing 34-30 at the half, Ford hit a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game at 36-33 in the opening minute of the period.

After two Pollard free throws brought NU within just two at 37-35, the freshman Walker drained a momentum shifting 3-pointer to give the Huskies their first lead since the 13:16 mark of the first half. Following a Blue Hens trey on the ensuing possession, Lee hit a layup and Walker continued his inspired play with an emphatic dunk in transition to give NU at 42-40 lead with 15:53 remaining.

Neither side managed to grab control of the contest, as it remained a one-possession game until the end of regulation.

A pair of Ford free throws gave NU a 3-point cushion at 56-53 with 8:38 to go, but Delaware fought back to take a 60-58 lead on two Threatt free throws 5:51 left.

A 3-pointer from Stahl put the Huskies back in front at 63-62 with four minutes on the clock, but again the visitors answered with a pair of free throws to regain the advantage.

With 3:28 showing, Lee split the Delaware defense on his way to a tough layup to put NU ahead once more, 65-64.

The Blue Hens squared the game once again with a Saddler free throw to make it 65-65 with just 1:47 left.

Stahl came up big once again for the home team with a bucket down low on a well-executed play to give NU a two-point lead at 67-65, but a Saddler jumper with 13 seconds remaining fittingly knotted the CAA foes once more and send the game into overtime.

Delaware struck first in the extra period with a layup from Hagins, but Lee answered with a signature trey to make it 70-69 in favor of the home side. Ford then added a put back and Lee drained a mid-range jumper to open up a 74-69 lead with under 2:00 left.

A Hagins dunk in transition cut the Delaware deficit to three with 1:39 to play in the extra period and Threatt made both of his attempts from the line after being fouled on the ensuing possession to put the tally at 74-73.

After a controversial traveling call gave the Blue Hens the ball back, Threatt hit an improbable jumper from well beyond the arc as the shot clock expired to give the visitors a 76-74 lead with 0:12 remaining that proved to be the final margin.

After falling behind 5-1 to open play, Northeastern used a 7-0 run behind five straight Ford points to take a three-point lead after the game's first four minutes. Leading 11-7, NU gave way to a 7-0 Blue Hens spurt that put Delaware ahead, 14-11, heading into the stoppage at the 11:34 mark.

The Huskies squared the game, 16-16, on a Lee three, and later cut the margin to one, 21-20, on a Spencer bucket, but the visitors answered on each occasion.

Leading 26-25, Delaware used an 8-2 run to take a game-high seven-point advantage on a trey from Threatt with 1:59 remaining in the half. NU's Pollard connected on a 3-pointer of his own to make it 34-30 heading into the locker room.

The CAA-leading Huskies will now travel south to face UNCW in Wilmington, N.C., on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The game will be NU's fifth in just 11 days.

Game notes
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for NU and was just the second loss in 45 days … CAA Player of the Year candidate and leading scorer Joel Smith did not play due to injury, ending a streak of 92 consecutive appearances and 71 straight starts … Jonathan Lee scored a season-high 23 points for his second 20-plus point effort of the season and the 10th of his career … Quincy Ford passed the 20-point mark (21) for the third time this season and the fifth time in his career … Reggie Spencer played a season-low 21 points after being fouled out … Demetrius Pollard registered a game-high and career-best four assists … Pollard had five steals, which also was a game and career high … Northeastern lost in overtime for the first time this season (3-1)