Men's Basketball Stages Late Rally to Claim 77-74 Win at CAA Preseason Favorite Northeastern

Tuesday, November 6

Boston, MA

8 PM

Boston University

1-0

Northeastern

0-1

Boston University

Northeastern

Photo by: Jim Pierce

Men's Basketball Stages Late Rally to Claim 77-74 Win at CAA Preseason Favorite Northeastern

November 6, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Scanlon/Coach Jones Postgame Comments

BOSTON – Facing a nine-point deficit with 4:30 remaining in regulation, the Boston University men's basketball team used a pair of 3-pointers and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to rally for the 77-74 victory at CAA preseason favorite Northeastern on Tuesday night.

The Terriers (1-0) shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half to claim their second win in three meetings with the defending CAA co-regular season champion Huskies (0-1) and their first victory at Matthews Arena since 2008. Junior Tyler Scanlon led BU with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while fellow junior Max Mahoney and sophomore Javante McCoy combined for 25 points and 10 boards to help overcome 2018 All-CAA First Team honoree Vasa Pusica's 31 points.

THE FINAL STRETCH

Down 68-59, McCoy collected a loose rebound at the top of the key and flushed his lone 3-pointer of the night to ignite an 18-6 run to finish the contest.
McCoy contributed nine of his 13 points during the rally and also assisted on freshman Jordan Guest's trey at 1:38 to pull the Terriers within two (70-68).
While Guest's attempt was in the air, Mahoney was shoved to the ground, as he moved into position for a potential rebound and went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to put the deficit at one point.
The teams then exchanged the layups on the next two possessions, but Scanlon managed to power a jumper through a defender's hand to give BU the lead for good with 26 seconds remaining at 73-72.
Freshman Fletcher Tynen and McCoy hit two free throws apiece in the final 15 seconds to seal the win, as Pusica went 2-of-3 at the line and missed a contested game-tying 3-point attempt before the buzzer.

Relive the final seconds of our first win at Matthews Arena since 2008! #GoBU pic.twitter.com/f4wGLONFRr
— BU Men's Basketball (@TerrierMBB) November 7, 2018

THE SETUP

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with seven ties and six lead changes.
Pusica scored Northeastern's first six points for an early 6-3 lead, but the Terriers responded with a 9-2 spurt to grab their first lead of the game.
With the score tied at 16-16 (8:46), sophomore Andrew Petcash drained his first of two 3-pointers and was followed by redshirt-freshman Alex Vilarino's steal and fastbreak layup for BU's largest lead of the game.
Freshman Jonas Harper broke a 30-30 deadlock at 1:08 with a jumper, but the Huskies scored six of the last seven points of the half, highlighted by Anthony Green's alley-oop dunk before the buzzer for the 36-33 advantage.
Clinging to a 39-37 lead with 17:16 remaining following two Scanlon free throws, Pusica hit a 3-pointer to spark an 11-3 run capped by Donnell Greshman's trey at 15:15.
Bolden Brace added another 3-pointer at 12:43 to give the Huskies their largest lead of the game, 55-43, but Petcash came right back with a second bomb to cut the deficit to single digits.
BU pulled within five on four occasions, starting at 7:55 (59-54) and finally got closer on the four-point swing six minutes later that featured Guest's 3-pointer and Mahoney's free throw on the same possession.

GAME NOTES

BU won its first "true" road game of the season for the first time since claiming a 71-63 win at Norfolk State in 2014 and opened a season with a "true" road victory for the first time since posting a 77-64 win at St. Peter's in 2000.
Mahoney, McCoy and Scanlon were three of the four returning starters from last season to open the game on the court, as 2018 PL All-Rookie Team member Walter Whyte (9.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) sat out due to injury.
Sophomore Sukhmail Mathon earned his first-career start after appearing in all 31 games last year and finished with three rebounds, a block and steal in 12 minutes, while freshman Garrett Pascoe also earned the start that was quickly plagued by foul trouble.
Eleven Terriers saw action in the first 10 minutes of the game, and 10 of them finished with at least two made field goals and 12 minutes of playing time.
Vilarino went 4-of-6 from the field with six points coming during the middle of the second half to keep the Terriers within striking distance.
BU shot 49.2 FG% and posted a 38-30 advantage in rebounds, as the Huskies finished the night shooting 44.6 FG% and 24.0 3FG%, respectively.
The Terriers shot 54.7 FT% in non-conference play last season and only went 13-of-22 (.591) on Tuesday but hit clutch shots down the stretch to overcome NU's 18-of-24 (.750) performance.
BU led the PL last season in steals at 7.4 spg and recorded seven against Northeastern's five.
Green tallied 10 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double for the Huskies, while Brace was two points and one board shy.
With the win, the Terriers regained a slight 74-73 advantage in the series against Northeastern, as the teams opened their respective seasons against one another for the eighth straight year.
The Huskies entered the contest ranked no. 6 in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 after posting a 23-10 record last year.

NEXT UP: VERMONT

The Terriers will next host the America East preseason favorite Catamounts on Friday night with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
BU will face Vermont for the first time in the regular season since leaving the AE for the Patriot League in the summer of 2013.
The contest will also mark the 100th all-time meeting between the two schools with BU owning a 55-44 advantage in the rivalry that dates back to 1921-22.
The Terriers swept the Catamounts in 2013 with a 63-53 home win and 64-59 road victory.