RICHMOND, VA – A grueling season came to an end for the University of Delaware men’s basketball team Friday afternoon as the Blue Hens fell behind by 13 points at halftime and could never catch up in the second half in dropping a 77-67 decision to Northeastern in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at the Richmond Coliseum.

Herb Courtney (at right) closed out an outstanding season by scoring 24 points and Brian Johnson and Sam McMahon combined for another 32 points, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 12 seed Hens (5-26) closed out the season on a six-game losing streak. Delaware established a school and CAA record with its 26 losses and failed to advance to the CAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since joining the league in 2001-02.

No. 5 seed Northeastern (13-18), which defeated Delaware in all three meetings this season, placed four scorers in double figures led by 20 points each from Bennet Davis and Eugene Spates and advanced to the CAA quarterfinals where it will play No. 4 seed Drexel Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Huskies have now won four straight games.

“Northeastern played an outstanding game, especially late in the first half and early in the second half,” said first-year Delaware head coach Monté Ross, whose squad finished the season with just seven active players. “Our guys put up a very good fight. We could've packed it in when we were down 23, but the team continued to battle the whole way. This has been one of the most enjoyable years I've had. The kids had a great attitude and work ethic every single day this season."

Courtney, who also pulled six rebounds, posted his 15th straight double figure scoring effort and his 28th of the season. A second team All-CAA selection, he scored 20 or more points 13 times this season. McMahon finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for his ninth straight double-figure scoring effort, Johnson added 15 points, and Henry Olawoye contributed seven points and a career and team-high eight rebounds.

Davis had 20 points for Northeastern while Spates came off the bench to also contribute 20 points, including three three-pointers. Bobby Kelly added 15 points while CAA Rookie of the Year Matt Janning added 13 points and Manny Adako pulled a team-high 10 rebounds.

Delaware stormed out to a 10-2 lead early and still led 14-11 with 13:24 left in the first half before Northeastern used a 14-2 run of its own to go up 25-16 at the 7:05 mark. The Hens, who shot just 37 percent from the field in the first half (10 of 27), cut the lead to 31-22 with 4:07 remaining, but the Huskies scored the final four points of the first half to take a 35-22 lead into halftime and scored the first six points of the second half to make it 41-22 just two minutes into the final stanza.

Northeastern used another 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 50-27 with 14:08 remaining and still led by 20 points at the 10:53 mark. But Delaware refused to give in and used a 9-0 to cut the margin to 54-43 with 7:55 and later used back to back three-pointers by McMahon to cut the lead to single digits at 58-49 with 5:33 remaining. Delaware trailed 64-54 with 3:34 left, but Northeastern responded with five straight points to put the game away.

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