Men’s Basketball: Terriers Open Season With Overtime Victory at Northeastern

Featured image by Matthew Wuschke

By Jacob Trapanese

The Boston University Men’s Basketball Team (1-0) defeated Northeastern University (0-1) 76-75 in overtime at Matthews Arena on Monday night. The Terriers move to 76-77 in their all-time series against Northeastern and take the last matchup at Matthews Arena, which is set to be replaced soon.

BU started sluggishly, quickly falling behind 11-3 within the first six minutes and trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half. However, freshman Sam Hughes’ four first-half 3-pointers kept them in the game and even gave them a one-point lead heading into the half. Hughes’ hot shooting did not spread to the rest of the team, which shot just 1-12 from three in the first half and 1-19 in the game. 

“Sam Hughes was awesome. Without him, we’ve got no shot to win the game,” BU head coach Joe Jones said. “He shot us back into the game in the first half.“

Sophomore forward Ben Defty added 9 points and 6 rebounds, helping the Terriers to a 24-16 rebounding advantage. Defty took advantage of a Northeastern team that had just one player above 6’10.

The second half was much more back and forth than the first, with six lead changes. Northeastern guard and preseason all-CAA honoree LA Pratt came alive, scoring 20 of his 26 points in the second half and overtime. Each team began to shoot better after halftime, with BU raising its shooting percentage from 40% to 53.8% and Northeastern going from 37.9% to 52.2%. Senior guard Ben Roy picked up his third foul less than two minutes into the half, limiting him to eight minutes after halftime. While the game remained close, BU held a small advantage until an 8-0 run with five minutes left gave Northeastern a 62-59 lead. A Northeastern turnover with 20 seconds to play allowed BU to tie the game after Sam Hughes was fouled with three seconds on the game clock, sinking both free throws and sending the game to overtime.

Overtime, like regulation, was not without its fair share of drama. BU leapt out to a 72-66 lead, powered by two Ben Defty baskets, as Northeastern went scoreless over the first three minutes of the period. Then LA Pratt took over, scoring seven of Northeastern’s nine overtime points. An Ethan Okwosa turnover with 45 seconds to play led to a Pratt three-pointer to cut the Terriers’ lead to one, and a Michael McNair miss on the other end gave Northeastern a chance to win the game. LA Pratt had a look from three as time expired but missed, giving BU a 76-75 overtime victory to open the season.

Sam Hughes led BU in scoring with 21 points, followed by Ben Defty with 20. Despite fouling out, freshman point guard Chance Gladden had a game-high five assists in his collegiate debut. For Northeastern, Youri Fritz chipped in 15 points, and William Kermoury added 14 alongside LA Pratt’s game-high 26 points.

However, the BU victory was not entirely successful. Preseason All-Patriot League selection Kyrone Alexander left the game late in the first half with what appeared to be a leg injury. BU is already without Otto Landrum and Matai Baptiste, two rotation pieces from last year’s team. There was no update on his status after the game.

“I don’t even know what to say. It’s just been awful. The injuries have just been awful,” said Joe Jones in his postgame interview.

The Terriers will head to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern on Friday at 6 p.m. on Peacock.