Mason men's basketball falls to Northeastern, 71-51 in largest loss of the season

Riding a three-game winning streak, the Mason men's basketball team traveled to Boston, Mass. with the intent to push their streak to four. However, the Northeastern Huskies had other plans. 

In a mostly dominating performance, the Huskies trounced the Patriots 71-51 on Sunday night to move to 8-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association. 

Quincy Ford and Joel Smith each contributed 15 points for Northeastern, who raised their lead on the conference to three games. In a battle of first and second in the conference, the Huskies had a statement win that showed the rest of the conference that they are the team to beat in the CAA. 

The largest lead that Mason held came with 7:54 to play in the first half. From then on out, it was all Northeastern. 

In the second half especially, the Huskies provided the bulk of the scoring, finishing the stanza with 42 points on 56.5 percent shooting from the field and 62.5 percent from the field. 

Junior guard Vertrail Vaughns led Mason in scoring with 13 points. Sherrod Wright turned in 12 points as well in the losing effort. Mason's frontcourt shot a combined 

Both of the double digit losses that the Patriots have endured this season have come at the hands of the Huskies (lost by 10 at home in early Jan.). 

The loss for the Patriots places them in a tie for second place in the CAA with James Madision University, who they will face on Saturday, Feb. 2. 

Next for Mason: vs. Drexel, Thurs. Jan. 31, 7 p.m. at the Patriot Center. 

Photo by John Irwin