Northeastern rights itself, ends skid

Coming off three straight losses, Northeastern rediscovered its offense against the second-best defense in the nation yesterday, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range in a 69-57 nonconference victory over Wright State in Fairborn, Ohio, that was part of ESPN's bracket-buster series this weekend.

Northeastern (17-10) went ahead for good on Eugene Spates's jumper with 4:14 left in the first half. The basket kicked off a 16-2 run that gave the Huskies a 37-24 halftime lead. Wright State (16-12) got within 5 with 3:18 remaining, but Chaisson Allen responded with a jumper and Northeastern hit its free throws down the stretch to pull away.

Spates had a game-high 22 points and Allen added 20. The pair combined to shoot 6 of 10 from 3-point range and the Huskies finished 7 of 14 from behind the arc against a Wright State team that entered allowing just 56.1 points per game.

Vermont 78, Buffalo 70 - After falling behind early, Mike Trimboli and the Catamounts (22-7) surged past the Bulls in an ESPN bracket-buster game in Burlington, Vt.

Trimboli scored 24 points, including four key free throws in the final minute after Buffalo (17-8) cut the lead to 74-69 with 53 seconds left. Colin McIntosh added 18 points for Vermont and Marqus Blakely had 15 points and nine rebounds.

BU 63, Iona 57 - In an ESPN bracket-buster contest at Case Gym, John Holland powered his way to 24 points and the Terriers (15-12) broke a three-game skid.

Freshman Jake O'Brien had 17 points and made two blocks in the last minute to help fend off the Gaels (12-16). Corey Lowe scored just 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting but handed out eight assists.

American 56, Holy Cross 50 - At Washington, Garrison Carr hit five free throws in the final 35 seconds and finished with 28 points as the Eagles (19-7, 11-1 Patriot) built a two-game lead over the Crusaders (14-13, 9-3) with two games left in the regular season.

Holy Cross pulled within 49-46 on Adam May's 3-pointer with 2:33 left, but Derrick Mercer's layup pushed the lead to 5 with 1:12 to play and Carr hit his foul shots to seal the win.

Notre Dame 103, Providence 84 - Ryan Ayers (28 points) made seven of Notre Dame's 13 3-pointers, and the Fighting Irish (15-11, 6-8 Big East) kept up their postseason push by racing past the host Friars (16-11, 8-7).

URI 77, Fordham 58 - Rhode Island (20-8, 9-4 Atlantic 10) got 29 points from Jimmy Baron, including 19 in the first 20 minutes to help the Rams build a 24-point halftime lead on host Fordham (3-21, 1-11).

Harvard 66, Penn 60 - With Drew Housman providing 22 points, the Crimson (11-13, 3-7 Ivy) dropped the Quakers (8-15, 4-5) to end a 16-game skid at The Palestra in Philadelphia.

Dartmouth 66, Princeton 63 - Alex Barnett scored 22 points, including six straight free throws in the final minute, to give the Big Green (8-16, 6-4 Ivy) a road win over the Tigers (10-12, 5-4).

Cornell 85, Brown 45 - At Providence, Louis Dale scored his 1,000th career point for the Big Green (18-8, 8-2), who hold a two-game lead in the Ivy with four games to play. The Bears (7-17, 1-9) were just 3 of 21 from 3-point range.

Yale 57, Columbia 49 - Ross Morin and Alex Zampier had 16 points apiece to pace the Bulldogs (11-13, 6-4 Ivy) past the visiting Lions (11-13, 6-4).

Quinnipiac 78, Long Island 73 - Justin Rutty provided 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Bobcats (13-14, 9-7 Northeast) snapped a 11-game home winning streak by the Blackbirds (14-13, 10-6).

Sacred Heart 83, Monmouth 61 - Joey Henley had 22 points, Corey Hassan scored 18, and the host Pioneers (14-13, 11-6) moved into third place in the Northeast Conference.

Central Conn. 78, St. Francis (N.Y.) 73 - The host Blue Devils (13-14, 8-8 Northeast) shot 50 percent from the floor and got 17 points apiece from Robby Ptacek and Marcus Palmer.

Hofstra 61, Fairfield 56 - Yorel Hawkins had game highs of 18 points and eight rebounds for the Stags (15-13), but the Pride (18-9) got the victory in an ESPN bracket-buster matchup in Bridgeport, Conn.

Marist 57, Hartford 35 - In an ESPN bracket-buster game in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., DeJuan Goodwin had six 3-pointers among his 20 points for the Red Foxes (9-20). The 35 points by the Hawks (6-23) were the fewest Marist has given up to a Division 1 team.

Bentley 85, Pace 77 - Jason Westrol (17 points, 13 rebounds) broke a tie in overtime and triggered a 10-0 spurt that enabled the Falcons (24-4, 18-3) to outlast the Setters (9-17, 7-14) and clinch the Northeast-10 title outright for the third year in a row.

UMass-Lowell 77, New Haven 55 - The host River Hawks (21-5, 16-5) kept their hold on second place in the NE-10 by blasting the Chargers (8-18, 6-15). Craig Heatherly and Kevin Carr each had 15 points.

Merrimack 87, Southern Conn. 61 - Wayne Mack scored 7 of the hosts' first 8 points and finished with 15 as the Warriors (19-7, 15-6) reached 15 wins in NE-10 play for the first time.

Stonehill 80, Saint Rose 59 - A.J. Rudowitz had 17 points and the Skyhawks (20-6, 15-6 NE-10) shot 58 percent from the field in the second half to blow away the visiting Golden Knights (11-15, 9-12).

Elms 108, Newbury 86 - The Blazers (24-1, 14-0 NECC), ranked 12th in Division 3, tied a school record with their 14th straight victory and set a program mark for wins in a season. Dan Gonzalez led the rout in Chicopee with 17 points.

R.I. College 78, Eastern Conn. 65 - The Anchormen (21-4, 13-1 Little East), ranked 18th in Division 3, got 16 points from Bobby Bailey in beating the Warriors (12-13, 6-8) in Providence.

UMass-Dartmouth 86, Plymouth St. 75 - Matt Walker and Brandon Stephens combined for 43 points, sparking the Corsairs (22-3, 12-2 Little East), ranked 19th in Division 3, in Plymouth, N.H.

NESCAC quarterfinals - Middlebury (22-3), the tournament's top seed, received 29 points from Ben Rudin and cruised past No. 8 seed Connecticut College, 78-62 . . . No. 2 seed Amherst (20-5) had no trouble with seventh-seeded Trinity, posting an 80-66 victory at home as Brian Baskauskas (19 points) led four players in double figures . . . Fifth-seeded Bowdoin (17-8) ousted No. 4 Colby, 66-54, in Waterville, Maine. Mark Phillips led the way with 15 points . . . Williams (17-8), the third seed, got 21 points from Blake Schultz in an 87-78 home win over No. 6 Bates.