Men’s Basketball: Terriers Fall in a Frustrating Season Opener to Rivals Northeastern
Featured image by Jacob Ireland
By Finley Rogan
Boston University Men’s Basketball (0-1, 0-0 PL) fell to their cross-town rivals in the Northeastern Huskies (1-0, 0-0 CAA) in their season opener at the Case Gym on Monday night.
“We were awful, especially defensively,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said. “It was just one of the worst performances I’ve seen one of our teams play since I’ve been here.”
The Huskies came out hot out the gate, forcing three turnovers in the first three minutes while hitting three of four early three point attempts. Northeastern led 13-5 four minutes in. BU settled down a bit after the break, and thanks to some stops they shaved the deficit down to six points. Northeastern led 18-12 with 11:08 left in the first half.
“We knew they were gonna come into the game and deny some passes,” Jones said. “And we were gonna have to play through it.”
The Terriers wound up racking up some stops as they clawed back to tie the game at 21 with the first career points from freshman guard Azmar Abdullah. BU took a brief lead thanks to a three point make from sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander, but it hardly lasted as Northeastern quickly scored six points in a row.
BU went on a 16-9 run to close out the final seven minutes of the half and led 39-38 after 20 minutes. The Terriers shot a perfect 6-6 from the field in that span.
Northeastern saw a strong performance from junior guard LA Pratt who finished the half 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the field.
“First time LA Pratt has worn a Northeastern uniform, and he didn’t disappoint,” Northeastern Head Coach Bill Coen said.
BU had a strong first half contribution from Kyrone Alexander who had an efficient nine points to go along with an assist and two rebounds. Beyond that, Alexander had momentum buckets for the Terriers, twice taking the lead with his makes.
“I definitely try to get myself involved if I feel it’s needed,” Alexander said.
In the second half, BU came out determined to extend their lead. On the first defensive possession, graduate student guard Miles Brewster forced a jump ball and grabbed the momentum. In the two minutes following the steal, the Terriers made two three point shots and had a great dunk and finish from senior forward Malcolm Chimezie to give themselves a 47-40 lead.
After a brief Husky run, the teams resumed trading baskets on each side of the floor and thanks to a run of buckets from sophomore guard Ethan Okwuosa, the Terriers led 55-53 with 12:07 left to play in the game.
With makes from junior forward Colin Metcalf and LA Pratt, the Huskies took a 57-55 lead with 9:37 left to play.
Northeastern took a 65-59 lead after an incredible dunk from junior guard Rashad King. BU’s Alexander quickly responded with a three pointer the Husky lead back down to three.
Northeastern responded with two layups, but Kyrone Alexander once again hit a momentous bucket with a deep three point make to go along with a foul resulting in a four point play. With another basket from senior forward Malcolm Chimezie the Terriers trailed by one with 2:30 left.
The Huskies once again responded by hitting a three pointer, forcing a turnover and getting another make inside. Northeastern led 74-68 with two minutes left in the second half.
Unable to convert on offense, BU began fouling Northeastern with under 40 seconds to play. Husky graduate student forward Alexander Nwagha played incredible defense down the stretch with a few massive blocks and would finish with five total. BU as a team only had two.
The final buzzer sounded and the Terriers were defeated 80-72 in their season opener. BU was too inconsistent offensively in the second half and they had no answer for Northeastern’s hot shooting and scramble defense down the stretch.
Overall, Northeastern shot 63.8% which hardly results in a positive night for an opposing team. Jones thought the Terriers did an awful job of preventing the Huskies from getting downhill and towards the hoop.
“We didn’t play well with any lineup tonight,” Jones said. “You know, we just, we had no defensive presence out there.”
The Terriers will begin their road slate as they travel to California to take on the University of San Diego. Tipoff is set for Friday, November 8 at 10 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN+.