Nov. 16, 2014

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BOSTON - The Boston University men's basketball team featured three Terriers in double figures and committed just eight turnovers but came up short in a 71-65 defeat to Northeastern on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader.

With the season-opening loss, BU drops to 0-1, while the CAA preseason favorite Huskies improve to 1-0 in a thrilling rivalry that has now seen eight straight contests decided by eight points or less. The crosstown foes were tied at 60-60 with 3:11 left before Northeastern created enough space for the victory.

BU entered the match-up only returning two starters and 27 of the 72 points scored from last year's 72-69 victory. Making his first career start, sophomore Cedric Hankerson tallied a team-high 15 points with five rebounds and a career-high six assists. Junior John Papale added 11 points, six assists and five boards, while freshman Cheddi Mosely posted 12 points and three steals in the start.

Limited to 2-of-7 shooting from behind the arc last season, the Huskies' David Walker burned the Terriers with six treys on 10 attempts to finish with a game-high 23 points. T.J. Williams nearly had a triple-double with seven points, eight assists and nine rebounds, while Scott Eatherton had eight points and 10 rebounds to help Northeastern out-rebound BU, 35-30.

BU owned a 36-27 lead at halftime and opened the second stanza with a layup by junior Nathan Dieudonne to extend the advantage to a game-high 11 points. The Huskies did not let the game get away though and eventually took a one-point lead (51-50) at 8:04 on a Quincy Ford 3-pointer.

The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes with Hankerson tying the game for the second and final time at 60-60. The reigning CAA Defender of the Year Eatherton then stepped up big for the Huskies down the stretch. After his made layup, he swatted away a BU layup attempt to set up Ford's third 3-pointer. He then followed Papale's two free throws with another layup to keep the lead at five points (67-62) with 1:34 remaining.

The Terriers were unable to mount a rally, missing three 3-point attempts. They shot 48.1 percent in the first half from the field but were held to 32.0 percent in the second to finish 21-of-52 (.404).

NU faced a nine-point halftime deficit by shooting 34.5 percent. They mounted the successful rally by draining six 3-pointers en route to a 56.0 shooting percentage in the second half.

The Terriers outscored the Huskies in points off turnovers, 10-5, but NU had the advantage in the paint, 28-24.

BU will resume its four-game road trip at Norfolk State on Wednesday (Nov. 19) at 7 pm.