Box Score   |  Post-Game Press Conference

AMHERST, Mass.—The Northeastern men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, 79-54, to intrastate foe Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

The Huskies (4-1) struggled offensively, spotting the Minutemen (5-1) a 17-point first half lead from which they would never recover. The UMass pressure bothered NU all afternoon long. UM forced 20 Northeastern turnovers, and scored 27 points off the NU miscues.

Jabarie Hinds led the Minutemen with 14 points, while Derrick Gordon continued his strong play for Massachusetts, scoring 13 points to go with three assists and five steals. Cady Lalanne (12) and Donte Clark (10) also reached double figures for the home team.

David Walker (Stow, Ohio) led the Huskies with 14 points. Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pennsylvania) registered his fourth straight double-figure scoring effort with 11 points. The duo also recorded a team-high in assists, with three each. T.J. Williams (Pflugerville, Texas) chipped in with 12 points.

Northeastern, the CAA's top 3-point shooting team, struggled early on in Amherst, missing its first five from beyond the arc. The Huskies shot just 30 percent over the first 15 minutes, before hitting five of their final seven shots before intermission.

The Minutemen, meanwhile, posted their best first-half shooting performance of the season, connecting on 16-of-32 attempts. UMass surged to a 17-point lead before the Huskies closed the gap to 12 at the break, 36-24.

The improved shooting did not carry over to the second half for NU. The Huskies hit just two of their first eight shots, and the Minutemen took advantage, pushing the lead to 20 just five minutes in.

UMass continued to harass the Huskies, extending the advantage to 23 points, 59-36, at the 12-minute mark, and to a game-high 27 in the final minute of play.

Northeastern will return to action on Saturday when it welcomes Fairfield to Huntington Avenue for the first home game of the season. That match-up will be played at Cabot Center on the NU campus. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Tickets are available online at GoNU.com/tickets. Northeastern students can reserve free tickets on myNEU.

GAME NOTES
> The loss was Northeastern's first of the season; the Huskies' 4-0 start was just the fourth for the program since the NCAA went to a three-division format following the 1972-73 season
> UMass' 17 steals are the most by an NU opponent since surrendering 18 to Memphis on Dec. 31, 2008
> NU was out-rebounded for the first time this season
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