Northeastern stuns No. 15 Miami on Ford's buzzer-beater
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Quincy Ford had quite a day in his return to his home state.
Ford made a jumper at the buzzer, sending Northeastern to a 78-77 victory over No. 15 Miami on Friday.
The redshirt senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., dribbled to his left off an inbounds play and connected over Miami's Davon Reed as time expired. Ford finished with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
''I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,'' Ford said. ''My teammates were looking for me the whole game. Coach having the confidence in me to knock it down, my teammates set a great screen and I was blessed that it went in.''
It was Northeastern's first win against a Top-25 team since an 86-84 victory over Louisville in 1986. The Huskies (5-1) blew a four-point lead in the final 34 seconds before Ford made his clutch basket.
''It's just another steppingstone for us,'' Northeastern coach Bill Coen said. ''I told the guys in the locker room that they can set the bar. They can play at this level if we remain disciplined and together.''
Reed scored 19 points for Miami (5-1), and Sheldon McClellan finished with 18 points.
Reed's corner 3-pointer with 21 seconds left trimmed Northeastern's lead to 76-75. Zach Stahl then threw the inbounds pass away, setting up McClellan's go-ahead jumper with 18 seconds to go.
But Ford rescued the Huskies, who were coming off a 67-61 loss at Miami (Ohio) on Sunday. David Walker added 21 points.
''We felt Quincy was having a great game and wanted the ball in his hands,'' Coen said. ''Great players make great plays. It's a simple play but Quincy stepped up and made a big-time shot at the exact time we needed to.''
The Huskies used a 13-2 run to erase a seven-point deficit in the second half. Jeremy Miller had a four-point play and Walker's layup with 57 seconds remaining gave Northeastern a 74-72 lead.
After McClellan's 3-pointer bounced off the rim, Walker made two free throws with 34 seconds left.
Miami trailed until Angel Rodriguez's corner 3-pointer with 7:48 remaining gave the Hurricanes a 58-56 lead. A 3-pointer from Ja'Quan Newton with 6:29 left increased Miami's advantage to 63-59.
Rodriguez scored five unanswered points on a 3-pointer and layup off a steal to help the Hurricanes open a 70-63 lead with 4:23 remaining.
''I thought it was a great college basketball game,'' Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. ''It wasn't like we played badly.''
Ford was 5 for 10 from 3-point range, leading a strong effort from beyond the arc for the Huskies. Northeastern made 12 of its 22 3-point attempts.
''They were a little bit on fire to start the game,'' Larranaga said. ''They were unconscious, making shots you know they can make. But everybody was making them.''
FLORIDA TURNAROUND
The Huskies have won their last two games in Florida after a 10-game drought. Before its win at Florida State last year, Northeastern had not won in Florida since a victory over McNeese State in the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando in December 1992.
JEKIRI ON THE BOARDS
Miami's Tonye Jekiri had 12 rebounds. Jekiri has finished with double-figure rebounds in five of the Hurricanes' first six games.
TIP-INS
Northeastern: The Huskies faced their first AP Top-25 opponent in a regular-season game since Connecticut on Dec. 6, 2006.
Miami: For the first time in school history, the season ticket allotment is sold out. Miami sold 5,500 season tickets, and the remaining tickets for regular-season games at the 7,972-seat Bank United Center will be distributed to students and university staff. ... Newton had 13 points, and Rodriguez finished with 12.
UP NEXT
Northeastern: Hosts Harvard on Wednesday.
Miami: Visits Nebraska on Tuesday.
