Northeastern Forces OT and Defeats Dragons at the DAC

Tuesday, January 8

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00

Drexel University

5-10, 1-2

Northeastern

8-7, 3-0

OT 1

Northeastern

Drexel

Northeastern Forces OT and Defeats Dragons at the DAC

1/8/2013 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia, Pa. - Northeastern's Quincy Ford made an off-balance three-pointer with just 1.9 seconds to play to force overtime and the Huskies went on to defeat the Dragons, 63-58.

The Dragons (5-10, 1-2 CAA) trailed 43-42 with 2:20 to play but scored five straight points to take the lead. Frantz Massenat drained a three-pointer and after a defensive stop, the Dragons went up by four with 1:05 to play on a Daryl McCoy tip-in. The Huskies (8-7, 3-0) made one of two free throws on their next trip to make it a one possession game. The Dragons worked the ball around and had a chance to clinch it with 16 seconds to play, but Tavon Allen's three-pointer just missed and NU got possession. The Huskies brought the ball around and Drexel played good defense on the arc, forcing Ford to double pump with a man in his face. Ford's shot swished through the next tying the game and forcing the extra period. In the overtime, the Huskies were 12-for-13 from the line and never trailed.

The game was close the entire way with each team clamping down on the defensive end. Neither team led by more than seven as points were at a premium the entire night. The Dragons went on a 10-0 run early to take a 12-5 lead after a Tavon Allen three-pointer. The Dragons' defense held Northeastern without a point for a stretch of more than six and a half minutes in the first half. However, the Huskies made a run of their own, scoring eight straight points to take a four-point advantage with 1:29 to play. The Dragons cut the deficit to one on a three-pointer by Derrick Thomas and went to the half down just one at 23-22.

Masssenat led the Dragons with 19 points, 14 of them coming in the second half. The junior made three three-pointers. Allen finished with 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Allen started in place of Damion Lee, who was out with an injury. Dartaye Ruffin grabbed nine boards to lead the team. The junior now has 500 rebounds in his career. Daryl McCoy had his streak of three straight games with 10 rebounds snapped. He did grab eight rebounds as Drexel outrebounded the Huskies, 40-31.

Northeastern was led by Reggie Spencer's 17 points and seven rebounds. Ford added 14 points. Joel Smith and Jonathan Lee, the Huskies' two leading scorers who both averaged more than 15 points per game, were held in check most of the night by Drexel's defense. They combined to shoot just 3-for-16 from the floor with Lee scoring nine and Smith just seven. Northeastern's defense also played well, forcing 21 Drexel turnovers and holding the Dragons to just 36 percent shooting.

Drexel will look to snap its losing streak on Saturday with a road contest at James Madison. That game can be seen live on the NBC Sports Network beginning at 4 p.m.