BOSTON -- The University of Delaware rallied from a deficit of 10 points in the second half and had the chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Northeastern held on to post a 73-71 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory Thursday night at Matthews Arena.

The Blue Hens (4-10, 0-5 CAA), who lost their fourth straight game, cut the lead to three points at 72-69 with 32 seconds left and had the chance to tie with a three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining but couldn’t convert and dropped their 11th straight game. The Hens fell to 0-5 in league play for the first time since the 1986-87 season.

Delaware All-American candidate Harding Nana recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds while Andrew Washington (right) added a season-high 21 points and Zaire Taylor netted eight points.

League newcomer Northeastern (8-6, 4-2 CAA), a former foe of Delaware in the America East conference, had lost five of its previous six games but recovered to post the victory over the Hens. Jose Juan Barea, the NCAA Division I assist leader (9.0 per game) who also ranks No. 6 in NCAA Division I in scoring at 23.8 points per game, had another big effort as he overcame nine turnovers to score 21 points and dish out seven assists.

Three other Huskies scored in double figures as Aaron Davis added 13 points, Jaron Cole came off the bench to add 12 points and pull eight rebounds, and Bobby Kelly contributed 10 points. Shawn James added eight rebounds and five blocks before fouling out.

“We played much better in the second half tonight,” said Delaware head coach David Henderson, whose team trailed by as much as 15 points in the first half went behind 38-25 at halftime. “We went smaller and the players we had out there played much better. I was proud of the effort, we played hard in the second half. When you play on the road, you’ve got to hit your free throws. That came back to haunt us. We did some good things tonight so we have to build on this effort.”

Northeastern shot 51 percent from the field for the game (25 of 49) and held a commanding 40-26 advantage on the boards and converted 17 of 23 free throws. Delaware bounced back to hit 18 of 32 second half shots from the field and committed just\ eight turnovers for the game, but couldn’t overcome a tough night at the line where the Hens made just 12 of 20 shots.

Delaware trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half but rallied to cut the lead to four several times, including pulling to within 59-55 with 6:47 left when Nana and Rulon Washington hit back to back three-pointers. But the Huskies stormed back with a 9-0 run paced by Barea, who nailed a three-pointer, hit a jump shot, and fed Kelly for a slam dunk to go up 68-55 with 4:48 left.

But the Hens refused to fold. Senior Chris Prothro, playing in just his second game after missing all of the 2004-05 season and most of the 2003-04 campaign with injuries, scored his first two baskets of the season in the final two minutes, converting a jumper with 1:47 left and hitting a layup with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-69. Barea upped the NU lead to 72-69 with one free throw with 21 seconds left, giving Delaware the chance to tie the game.

However, the Hens couldn’t capitalize as Nana’s three-point attempt at the top of the key was blocked by Bennett Davis and Cole followed with one free throw to push the lead to 73-69. Delaware’s Rulon Washington’s layup with 4.5 seconds left narrowed the margin to 73-71, but the Hens couldn’t foul Northeastern on the inbounds play and the Huskies ran out the clock to ice the win.

Boxscore