Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. — Joel Smith scored a game-high 27 points and Northeastern went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in overtime to defeat Old Dominion, 79-74, on Saturday in Norfolk. With the win, the first-place Huskies improved to 11-1 in CAA play for the first time in program history and 16-8 overall.

NU, which led by three at the half, pushed the advantage to eight early in the second half. Minutes later, with the Huskies up seven, ODU (3-21, 1-11 CAA) ripped off a 12-1 run to take a four-point lead. With the lead still at four and just under 6:00 to play, NU scored seven straight points to regain a three-point lead. ODU battled back to tie the game on three separate occassions, the last in the final seconds to force overtime. The Huskies owned the extra period. After the Monarchs scored the first basket, NU rattled off seven straight points and never again trailed.

NU shot 86 percent (25-29) from the free throw line and the Huskies defense limited ODU to just 4 percent (1-26) shooting from beyond the arc.

Smith (Leander, Texas), who set new career highs for free throws made (12) and attempted (13), scored his 27 points on just 10 shot attempts and has either led the team or been second in scoring in nine straight games. He was joined in double figures by fellow senior co-captain Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) with 19 points, Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) with 13, and David Walker (Stow, Ohio) with 11. Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) registered eight points and, with Ford, tied for the team high with eight rebounds.

Dimitri Batten led the Monarchs with a career-high 25 points. DeShawn Painter corralled a game-best 16 rebounds to go with 15 points.

Leading by three at the break, NU stormed out of the locker room to score the first five points of the second half and take a 33-25 lead just two minutes in. Walker hit two free throws and Spencer converted a traditional three-point play to account for the NU scoring.

The teams traded points over the next three minutes, with a Spencer layup, Lee free throw and Smith bomb keeping the advantage at eight, 41-33, at the 15 minute mark. ODU then cut the lead to four before Lee dialed in from long range to push the margin back to seven. Spencer answered an ODU basket with a layup at 12:13, which proved to be NU's last field goal for nearly five minutes. A Walker free throw accounted for the only NU points as ODU rattled off a 12-1 run to take a 51-47 lead with 8:01 to go.

Walker hit a jumper to end the slide and ignite an 11-4 NU run. Smith hit a jumper, Ford made two free throws, Smith followed with another jumper and Ford connected on a three to cap the run with NU up, 58-55, with 3:57 showing on the clock.

Two minutes of scoreless action later, ODU's Painter converted a traditional three-point play to level the score and set the stage for the dramatic finish.

Smith hit two free throws for the Huskies, which were answered by a Batten layup. Ford dialed in from long range again to give the visitors a three-point edge. Batten hit two free throws to cut it to one, and Smith answered with a pair from the line to again push the lead to three with 17 ticks remaining in regulation. Batten answered with a jumper and, after Smith made one of two at the line, Painter hit a lay-in in the final seconds to send the game to overtime.

Donte Hill started the scoring in the extra session. From there, the Huskies grabbed control. Lee hit a big 3-pointer from the left corner. Walker and Smith followed with two free throws each to give NU a 73-68 lead with just under three minutes remaining. Four straight points by the Monarchs cut the margin to one with 1:46 to go. Smith then hit two free throws and, after a Batten layup, Lee went four-for-four at the free throw line to ice the game.

Northeastern controlled play for much of the first half. In a low-scoring half, NU built a five-point lead just under eight minutes into the game. ODU then used a 7-2 run to tie the game. The Huskies followed with a 6-0 spurt to regain control and led by as many as six twice before heading the the locker room up three, 28-25.

For the game, Northeastern shot 42 percent (23-55), including 38 percent (8-21) from beyond the arc. The Huskies made the most of their trips to the free throw line, hitting 25 of 29 attempts (86 percent). ODU shot 40 percent (31-77) despite a woeful 1-for-26 (4 percent) showing from long range. The Monarchs went 69 percent (11-16) at the charity stripe. ODU won the rebounding battle, 48-35.

Northeastern will conclude its three-game road swing on Monday at William & Mary. Tip-off in Williamsburg is set for 7 p.m. The Huskies defeated the Tribe, 95-91, in a double-overtime marathon at Matthews Arena on Jan. 23.

Game notes
Northeastern is 11-1 in CAA play for the first time in program history … NU is tied with Miami for the nation's second-best road winning percentage (8-1, .889); the Huskies are 6-0 in CAA road games … NU improved to 3-0 in overtime games and 6-1 in television games … Joel Smith set new career highs for free throws made (12) and attempted (13) and was just two points (27) from tying his career high … Smith has either led the team or been second in scoring in nine straight games … NU registered 16 assists for its ninth CAA game (in 12) with at least 15 assists … Jonathan Lee scored 19 points for the third time this season and was just one point away from his season high (20) … NU tied a season high for made free throws (25) … ODU's field goal attempts (77) and rebounds (48) were the most by an NU opponent this season … ODU's 3-point field goals made (1) and percentage (.038) were season lows for an NU opponent … the win was the Huskies' first in Norfolk since Jan. 24, 2009 (58-42) and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series