Northeastern wins 2015 CAA Championship - Mar 10, 2015

Tournament most outstanding performer Quincy Ford (6'8''-F-93) scored a game high 22 points as Northeastern held off a late William & Mary rally to post a 72-61 victory and capture its first Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Championship Monday at Royal Farms Arena.
Third-seeded Northeastern improved to 23-11, claimed its first league tournament since 1990-91 in the North Atlantic Conference and secured its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 1990-91. The Huskies, who joined the CAA for the 2005-06 season and appeared in its title game in 2012-13, reached the 23-victory plateau for the first time since compiling a 27-7 record during an NCAA Tournament season in 1986-87.
Top-seeded William & Mary, which made its fourth appearance in the finals in the last eight years, dropped to 20-12 with the loss. As the top seed for the CAA Championship, William & Mary earns a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.
Ford, a 6-foot-8 redshirt junior swingman, hit on eight of 10 shots overall and four of five from three-point range and had four rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and a steal in 34 minutes. He scored eight points as the Huskies took a 10-0 lead, had five points during a later 9-0 Husky run that led to a 36-26 halftime lead, and set the early second-half tone with a three-pointer on the period's opening possession.
Joining Ford in double figures in scoring for Northeastern were junior guard David Walker (6'6''-G) with 15 points, junior guard Caleb Donnelly (6'1''-G) with 13, and senior forward Scott Eatherton (6'8''-F) with 12. Walker had three three-pointers and Donnelly four, and Eatherton hit on five of six shots and had five rebounds.
Senior guard Marcus Thornton (6'4''-G) led William & Mary with 20 points and five assists, while sophomore guard Daniel Dixon (6'5''-G) had 15 points on five three-point field goals. Junior forward Terry Tarpey (6'5''-G) had 10 points and seven rebounds for William & Mary.
Northeastern, which shot 59.1 percent (26-44) overall and 60.0 percent (12-20) from three-point range, appeared to have the game well in hand, leading 67-45 with 3:39 to play. However, William & Mary ran off 16 straight points, including four three-pointers, to get to within 67-61 with 36.5 seconds remaining. Northeastern, which had missed on the first of three one-and-one free throw chances, then hit on five of six attempts from the foul line the rest of the way.
Dixon and Thornton each had two three-pointers during William & Mary's 16-0 burst before Northeastern got two free throws from redshirt Eatherton with 30.3 seconds left, one from Donnelly with 14.8 seconds left and two from Ford with 6.0 seconds remaining. William & Mary had missed on two three-point attempts after Eatherton's free throws gave the Huskies a 69-61 lead at the 30.3-second mark.
After Ford's three-pointer to start the second-half scoring, William & Mary pulled to within 42-35 with 12:42 left before a 17-5 burst, gave Northeastern a 22-point lead, 62-40 with 5:55 to play. Walker had seven points and Donnelly two three-pointers during the run.
Northeastern, with Ford converting a layup and two three-pointers, scored on its first four possessions to jump out to a quick 10-0 advantage, but the Tribe rebounded to pull into a 15-15 tie behind six points by junior guard Terry Tarpey with 13:07 left in the period.
The teams were tied 20-20 before Eatherton scored twice inside and Ford made a two and three-point field goal to give Northeastern a 29-20 margin with 3:44 left in the half. William & Mary, which went nearly five minutes without scoring, got three-pointers from freshman guard Greg Malinowski (6'5''-G) and Dixon pull to within 31-26, but a field goal by sophomore guard T.J.Williams and a Ford three-pointer raised Northeastern's lead to 36-26 at halftime. Ford had 15 first-half points, including hitting on each of three attempts from three-point range.
William & Mary's Thornton and sophomore guard-forward Omar Prewitt (6'6''-G), who combined for 70 points in the Tribe's 92-91 double-overtime win over Hofstra in Sunday's semifinals, were held to five and zero points, respectively, on two-of-eight shooting during the opening half.
William & Mary shot 38.3 percent (23-60) overall and 40.0 percent on three-point attempts (10-25).
Ford scored 46 points in three tournament games and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Eatherton and Walker, W&M Thornton and Prewitt, and Hofstra's Juan''ya Green..

Courtesy of CAASports

CAA Tournament Final: Northeastern - William & Mary 72-61
CAA Tournament Semifinals:
Northeastern - UNCW 78-71
William & Mary - Hofstra 92-91