Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. — The Northeastern Huskies' pursuit of history fell short on Monday night in a 70-57 loss to James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship game. The Huskies, who rallied from a 24-point deficit in the semifinal a night ago, could not complete another improbable comeback. Northeastern, which won the CAA regular-season title, finished the season with a 20-12 record and is assured of a postseason appearance.
Madison countered an early 5-3 Northeastern lead with a 23-1 run and took a 22-point lead at the half. As they've done so many times this season,
Bill Coen's Huskies rallied. Trailing by 17 midway through the second half, NU rattled off nine straight points to close to within eight, but NU could get no closer as the spirited rally fell short.
Jonathan Lee (Flint, Mich.) scored 14 points — all in the second half — to lead Northeastern and earn all-tournament honors.
Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) and
Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.) each notched career highs with 10 and eight points, respectively.
David Walker (Stow, Ohio) scored 10, followed by
Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) with six,
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) four,
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.) three, and
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) two.
Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
A.J. Davis, the tournament MVP, scored a game-high 26 points for the Dukes. Rayshawn Goins registered 14 and Andre Nation 10 to join Davis in double figures.
Northeastern, boasting the CAA's top-rated offense, struggled to find a rhythm against a JMU defense that was third in scoring defense. The Huskies shot just 37 percent for the game, including 18 percent from 3-point range. NU, which finished the regular season ranked sixth in the nation in free throw percentage, finished at just 54 percent.
Smith opened the scoring for NU with a 3-pointer and Spencer added a layup to grab an early 5-3 lead. Madison then put together a 23-1 run to take a 26-6 lead with 7:06 remaining in the first half. A 5-2 spurt by the Huskies, keyed by two Stahl free throws and a 3-point play by Banegas-Flores, was answered by four straight from the Dukes to push the score to 32-11 at the 4:25 mark.
After a Walker layup, Davis hit one of his three 3-pointers to give the Dukes a game-high 22-point lead, 35-13, with 2:22 to play before the half. Banegas-Flores hit two free throws and Smith a 3-pointer before the half, but JMU had an answer each time to carry a 22-point bulge into the break.
A 6-1 run out of the locker room brought NU within 17 at 41-24 by the first media stoppage. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, and the margin was again 17 at the second media break, with JMU holding a 49-32 lead. Lee scored NU's first 10 points of the half to keep the Huskies' comeback hopes alive.
Out of the timeout, Lee and Davis traded baskets before Coen's charges evoked memories of their sensational semifinal comeback. Peck started the run with a layup. Walker followed with a conventional three-point play and then grabbed a steal and fed Lee for a transition jumper, forcing a JMU timeout. After a series of defensive stops, Peck rose above the defense for a tip-in and, all of a sudden, the Huskies were within eight, 51-43, with 8:23 to go.
Less than a minute later, Smith was whistled for his fifth foul on a close call in the corner, sending Nation to the line for three shots. He made all three to open a 10-3 JMU run that pushed the margin to 15, 61-46, with less than five minutes to play.
Peck hit a free throw and Walker a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 11, as the Huskies refused to go quietly. Madison, though, answered with a 9-1 run to take a 70-51 lead and put the game out of reach.
Displaying a great measure of pride, NU continued to fight. The Huskies held JMU scoreless over the final 2:11. Walker threw down a dunk and Banegas-Flores added back-to-back dunks to set the final score at 70-57.
For the game, NU shot 37 percent (20-54) from the floor, 18 percent (3-17) from 3-point range, and 54 percent (14-26) from the line. JMU hit 49 percent (24-49) from the field, 29 percent (4-14) from beyond the arc, and 72 percent (18-25) from the charity stripe.
As the regular-season conference champion, Northeastern is assured of at least an NIT appearance. The Huskies will learn their postseason fate next weekend. Stay tuned to GoNU.com for news and notes about the postseason.
Game notes
Northeastern made its first appearance in the CAA championship game … NU won the CAA regular-season title for the first time and is assured of a postseason berth … NU now is 7-3 all-time in conference tournament title games … at 20-12, NU reached the 20-win mark for the 13th time in program history and the second time under head coach
Bill Coen … NU's free throw percentage (53.8) was a season low … NU tied a season low for 3-pointers made (3) … the NU bench outscored the JMU bench, 23-2 …
Jonathan Lee (14 points) scored in double figures for the third straight game, the 17th time this season, and the 65th time in his career …
Marco Banegas-Flores (10) and
Derrico Peck (8) both set new career highs for points …
David Walker scored in double figures for the fifth time this season … Northeastern will make a postseason appearance for the third time in
Bill Coen's seven-year tenure
.
