Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Northeastern sophomore
Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) scored 23 points on a blistering 82 percent shooting and grabbed nine rebounds on Saturday night at UNCW. But with leading scorer
Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) limited by injury and UNCW owning a decisive advantage at the free throw line, the Huskies dropped a 73-67 decision to the Seahawks at Trask Coliseum.
NU (17-10, 12-3 CAA), which remains in first place in the CAA, has lost consecutive games for the first time since mid-December. UNCW (10-16, 5-9 CAA) improved to 9-3 at home on the season.
Northeastern led by as many as six points in the second half and by two with just over three minutes remaining. The Seahawks, though, were sent to the free throw line on seven of the next nine possessions to gain an eight-point edge that NU could not overcome.
Senior
Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) joined Ford in double figures with 13 points and added four assists and five steals.
David Walker (Stow, Ohio) tallied nine points, while
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) and
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) recorded seven points apiece.
For the Seahawks, Keith Rendleman registered a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Cedrick Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds.
After trailing by three at the half, 31-28, Northeastern scored seven straight points to open the second 20 minutes of play. Spencer converted back-to-back layups and Lee connected from the left wing to give the visitors a 35-31 lead.
UNCW sandwiched baskets around two Ford free throws before Walker dialed in from long range to push the NU lead to 40-35 with 15:16 to play.
After five minutes of even play, UNCW scored five straight points to tie the score, 48-48, with just under 10 minutes remaining. The Huskies responded with a 6-0 run on a free throw by Lee, a jumper by Ford, and another long ball from Walker, to take a 54-48 lead at the 8:41 mark.
Walker's basket was the last for NU for more than four minutes, as the Seahawks rattled off eight straight points to take a 56-54 lead with 4:55 to play.
Ford hit consecutive layups to give the Red and Black the lead again, 58-56, with just over three minutes remaining.
UNCW, though, was sent to the free throw line on seven of its next nine possessions, out-scoring NU 12-2 during the two-minute span, to take a 68-60 lead with just 51 seconds remaining. NU could get no close than six points the rest of the way as UNCW added three more free throws and a Rendleman basket to set the final score at 73-67.
In the first half, Walker opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. UNCW answered with seven straight points to take a 7-3 lead less than three minutes into the action. NU countered with a 5-0 run of its own behind a Lee layup and a Ford 3-pointer to regain the advantage.
Sparked by a trio of Rendleman dunks in transition, the Seahawks embarked on a 9-2 spurt to grab a 16-10 lead at the 10:49 mark. The lead was their largest until the final minute of play.
The game of runs continued as NU put together a 9-2 spree behind seven straight points from Stahl and a Ford layup to take a 19-18 lead with 5:36 to play before the half.
UNCW then rattled off five straight points, only to see the Huskies fire back with a Pollard jumper and a Ford trey to again take a one-point lead. The Seahawks out-scored the Huskies 8-4 the rest of the way to take a 31-28 lead at the break. Spencer and Lee each hit jumpers to account for the NU points.
The teams were even in made field goals with 26 apiece, and NU hit two more shots from beyond the arc than did UNCW. The largest statistical difference was at the free throw line, where UNCW made 16 of 24 attempts to just 8-of-10 for NU.
For the game, the Huskies shot 43 percent (26-61) from the floor and 27 percent (7-26) from 3-point range. UNCW shot 52 percent (26-50) from the field, including 36 percent (5-14) from distance. The Seahawks owned a slight 34-31 edge in rebounds, but NU out-scored UNCW in second chance points, 19-10.
Northeastern will return home on Wednesday to face James Madison for the first time this season. The Huskies and Dukes will tip off at 7 p.m. at historic Matthews Arena. Comcast SportsNet will televise the game throughout the East Coast.
Game notes
Northeastern lost consecutive games for the first time since mid-December (Dec. 8 and 18) …
Quincy Ford shot a blistering 82 percent (9-11) from the floor … Ford scored 23 points, his third-highest point total of the season, for his 21st double-figure scoring effort of the season and fourth game of the year with 20 or more points …
Jonathan Lee scored 13 points for his 14th double-figure scoring performance of the year … NU lost a true road game for just the second time this season and the first time in CAA play … for the 13th time in 15 CAA games, NU scored more points off turnovers than its opponent … leading scorer
Joel Smith played just 16 minutes due to injury
.
