Add an overall winning streak that had reached 11 games - second-longest in the country - and you had a formula for success that had NU in a three-way tie for first with Old Dominion and George Mason.

That was the good-news side of the coin for the Huskies, who last saw the Dragons in Philadelphia in December and came away with a 49-47 loss - and a lesson earned early in the year.

The other side? Drexel came to Matthews Arena as a semi-hot team last night, having won five of its last seven. The Dragons also received a booster shot with the return of senior forward Leon Spencer, who had missed 16 games with a fractured wrist.

Drexel proved again it could handle the Huskies, taking an early lead it never relinquished in posting a 61-48 grinder that was remarkably similar to its victory in December.

Drexel (12-10, 7-3) outrebounded, outshot, and outdefended the Huskies, much to the dismay of the crowd of 2,145, including a season-high 1,024 students.

“It was one of the more physical games we played, and that physicality prevented us from getting the ball movement and the shot selection we’ve been accustomed to the last few games,’’ said Coen, who must now quickly regroup his team to take on Old Dominion Saturday.

The Huskies (13-8, 8-2) had problems across the board, with Drexel posting a 46-30 rebounding edge and outshooting the home team from long range (5 of 14 on threes to 3 of 17).

Drexel’s superiority was evident at the start as it roared to a 19-4 lead and evident at the end as it withstood an NU run that cut the deficit to 4 with eight minutes left.

“When we got it down to 4, I thought we could settle down and play from there,’’ said Coen, “but we had empty offensive possessions and they capitalized on it.’’

For Bruiser Flint, who has settled in as Drexel’s coach after a long stint at the University of Massachusetts, this was a positive sign.

“It’s always a slugfest,’’ said Flint. “We’ve just been able to win the last couple of games. They made a run at us, but we came up with some big stops. It’s always a tough game playing against these guys. ‘’

The things that have been working for Northeastern didn’t work against Drexel. Veteran guards Chaisson Allen and Matt Janning had hands in their faces and body contact most of the evening. Drexel kept them out of their normal pattern of play, as Allen was 2 of 9 on 3-point shots and Janning 1 for 4. Overall, they each shot 4 for 13.

Coen expects his team to come out better against ODU.

“We bounced back from seven losses early in the season,’’ said Coen, referring to a 2-7 start that morphed into the 11-game win streak. “We’re still in January. There’s a whole lot of the season left.

“Our goal is that we have to get better. Tonight we weren’t good enough.’’

Mark Blaudschun can be reached at blaudschun@globe.com.