Nov. 12, 2010
Box Score
BOSTON - Trailing 41-29 at halftime, senior John Holland and freshman D.J. Irving combined for 28 points in the second half, but Northeastern withstood the furious Boston University men's basketball team rally for a 66-64 victory Friday night at Matthews Arena. Ahead by two with 5.4 seconds remaining, the Huskies grabbed the offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer and hit both free throws after being immediately fouled to pull out the victory in the first season-opening contest between the longtime rivals in over 60 years.
Holland finished with a game-high 25 points for the Terriers, including 15 straight in the final seven minutes before Irving's layup at the buzzer. Making the start, Irving had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists for the best offensive debut by a BU freshman since Carlos Strong ('10) had 19 points in 2006. Junior Jake O'Brien fell two boards shy of a double-double with 11 points, two blocks and two steals.
Senior Chaisson Allen gave the Huskies the 12-point lead at the half with 16 of his 20 points, while sophomore Kauri Black picked up a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Alex Harris tallied 12 points off the bench, including the two free throws that sealed the win and snapped a two-game losing streak against BU.
The two teams opened the game going back and forth with Irving tying the game for the last time at 17 apiece with 12:24 left in the first half. The Huskies went on a 10-2 run completed by a three-pointer by Jonathan Lee, but O'Brien drained a jumper and then completed an alley-oop off an inbounds pass from freshman Dom Morris to cut the deficit to four at 5:52. Allen finished the first half draining three straight jumpers, including one with two seconds left to the delight of the fans in attendance.
BU came out the locker room strong with a 10-3 run, but NU withstood the charge and pushed the lead to 56-43 with 9:45 to go. Again, the Terriers went on the charge with a 14-2 run that ended with Holland completing a three-point play at 3:41 off a fastbreak layup and made free throw.
Following a jumper by Joel Smith, Holland responded with an emphatic dunk. The defense then stood tall with a defensive rebound, but with the ball in their hands, the Terriers turned it over and never had the chance again to take the lead.
Holland drained a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the deficit to two with 45 seconds to go, but the defense could not get the stop, as Black dove off the court to save the possession for NU and help Harris get to the foul line.
BU finished the night 24-for-50 from the field at 48.0 percent after shooting 54.5 percent in the second half. The Huskies went 22-for-58 (.379) following a 7-for-26 (.269) second-half performance. NU though finished ahead in rebounds, 37-28, and with one less turnover, 13-12.
The Terriers are in action again on Tuesday (Nov. 16), participating in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off against George Washington at Villanova's Pavilion before facing either the Wildcats or Marist on Wednesday. BU will then host its home opener at Case Gym on Friday, Nov. 19, against Marist.
