Ford Leads Northeastern Past W&M, 57-49
RICHMOND, Va. (3/2/12) - Freshman Quincy Ford scored a
game-high 18 points as seventh-seeded Huskies held off 10th-seed
William & Mary, 57-49, in the first round of the Virginia 529 CAA Men's
Basketball Championship.
Northeastern (14-16) advances to Saturday's quarterfinal
round and will face second-seeded VCU at 6 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum.
Tim Rusthoven led W&M (6-26) with 12 points and seven
rebounds.
Ford was the difference for Northeastern, which also got 11
points from Jonathan Lee and 10 from Joel Smith to avenge a 25-point loss to
the Tribe in Williamsburg on Feb. 11.
After shooting 1-for-8 from behind the arc in the first
half, Northeastern came out blazing and drilled four consecutive three-pointers
to build a 12-point lead. Lee and Smith knocked down treys, before Ford
connected on back-to-back three-pointers to give the Huskies a 39-27 advantage
with 16:36 remaining.
The momentum shifted when Lee fouled out with 10:38 on the
clock, as W&M methodically chipped away at the deficit. Julian Boatner hit
a three-pointer, and Rusthoven's blocked shot on Ford led to a Marcus Thornton
lay-up at the other end that trimmed the Northeastern lead to seven.
Boatner canned another three and a pair of free throws,
before Quinn McDowell's three-point play with 6:27 remaining pulled W&M
within three, 46-43. W&M would get no closer, however, as the Huskies came
up with several clutch offensive rebounds and timely free throws down the
stretch.
Reggie Spencer extended two Northeastern possessions with
offensive boards and pushed the lead back to nine, 52-43, on a jumper with 3:40
remaining. Ford hit 3-of-4 at the line in the final minute to set the final
margin.
Northeastern outrebounded W&M, 42-27, which included 14
on the offensive end. Spencer led the Huskies with 10 rebounds and Ford
finished with seven.
Northeastern used its interior size advantage and built
an early 10-point lead behind six points from Ford. A putback by Black with
8:18 remaining in the first half gave Northeastern a 20-10 edge. At the other
end, Rusthoven kept the Tribe in the game with six points on 3-of-5 shooting,
while his teammates combined for a 1-for-10 start from the field.
W&M shook off the sluggish start and outscored the
Huskies, 12-5, over the final six minutes of the opening half. The Tribe also
turned up the heat on the defensive end, limiting Northeastern to one field
goal in the last eight minutes of the first half.
Rum and Kendrix Brown hit three-pointers and the Tribe
trailed, 25-22, at the break, before Northeastern's three-point barrage to open
the second half.
Thornton finished with 10 points to give the Tribe two in
double figures, and Boatner added eight off the bench.