Northeastern Survives Late BU Rally, 49-48

Tuesday, November 16

Boston, MA

7 PM

Boston University

1-2,0-0Patriot

Northeastern

1-2,0-0CAA

Boston U.

Northeastern

Walter Whyte goes up for a layup attempt with a URI defender leaping up trying to block the shot.

Photo by: Rich Gagnon

November 16, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Jones Postgame

BOSTON – Down by as many as 13, the Boston University men's basketball team staged a furious rally by scoring the game's final seven points over the last 1:46, but it wasn't enough in a 49-48 loss at crosstown rival Northeastern on Tuesday night.

Breaking a 74-74 stalemate in the 100+ year-old rivalry with their ninth one-point win, the Huskies improve to 1-2, while the Terriers drop to 1-2. Fans were treated to another thrilling finish, as the contest marked the 14th time in 15 meetings between the two programs that a game was decided by eight points or fewer. It was also the ninth time during that stretch that the matchup came down to the final possession or required overtime for a victor to emerge.

Senior Walter Whyte led BU with 13 points and eight rebounds, while graduate student Javante McCoy tallied 11 points. Junior Nevin Zink provided a needed spark off the bench with eight points and a steal, as the Terriers shot 1-for-18 (.056) from behind the arc.

The Huskies didn't have much luck in 3-point territory either, shooting 2-for-18 (.111), but they ended up having a slight 11-9 advantage in made free throws along with the extra made 3-pointer to claim the victory. Chris Doherty earned the game's lone double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Shaquille Walters posted nine points, six rebounds and three assists.

DOWN THE STRETCH

After senior Jonas Harper extended BU's streak of games with a 3-pointer to 777 contests at 3:40 to pull within four (45-41), the Huskies called a timeout.
Northeastern scored four quick points off Jahmyl Telfort's hook shot and Doherty's alleyoop dunk that followed BU's 13th and final turnover of the night.
The Huskies looked to put the game away with a blocked shot, but senior Fletcher Tynen intercepted a pass and fed the sprinting McCoy with a long pass for a fastbreak layup and free throw.
Facing a 49-44 deficit with 1:45 left, the Terriers got another stop and found graduate student Sukhmail Mathon in the paint for the layup at 48 seconds.
BU again got another defensive stop with under 21 seconds to play but was unable to get a quality look at a game-tying 3-pointer and instead settled for a layup by Whyte with approximately two seconds left.
Fouled at 1.6 seconds, Telfort missed the 1-and-1, but BU was unable to get off a decent attempt after hauling in the rebound for the loss.

THE SETUP

After Mathon won the jump ball to start the game, Whyte drove to the hoop for the layup and bonus free throw for BU's largest lead of the game.
The teams went back-and-forth with Zink scoring inside for an 11-9 advantage at 10:38.
Freshman Malcolm Chimezie's free throw at 7:34 gave BU its final lead of the night, 14-13., as Telfort took advantage of a teammate's offensive rebound with a layup at 6:53 to pull bac ahead, 15-14.
Telfort forced a turnover at 3:58 that Northeastern converted on with Jason Strong's slam dunk for a 22-16 advantage.
Zink hit a hook shot in the final minute, but Walkters beat the buzzer with a thunderous dunk to grab a 25-20 halftime lead for the Huskies.
The Terriers were held scoreless for the first 5:04 of the second half until Zink scored on a layup to cut the deficit to 32-22.
Notre Dame transfer Nikola Djogo flushed a 3-pointer following Coleman Stucke's offensive rebound to grab Northeastern's largest lead of the game, 37-24, at 11:02.
Facing a 39-26 deficit, McCoy helped spark an 8-0 spurt with a steal and assist on Harper's layup that was capped by a Mathon's layup at 6:56.
Northeastern momentarily pushed its lead up to nine (43-34) a minute later on Doherty's layup and bonus free throw, but the Terriers chipped away to set up the exciting finish.

GAME NOTES

McCoy's fastbreak layup on Tynen's steal at 1:46 pushed him past Rashad Bell ('05 - 1,367 pts.) into the No. 13 all-time spot at BU.
McCoy currently has 1, 370 points, 36 shy of No. 12 Chaz Carr ('05).
Whyte increased his point total to 945, just 55 away from becoming the 40th Terrier to reach 1,000 points.
The Terriers shot 11-of-23 (.478) in the second half after going 8-of-24 (.333) in the first.
BU outscored Northeastern off turnovers (16-12) and in the paint (34-26), but the Huskies owned a decisive 11-1 lead in second-chance points while earning a 30-29 edge in rebounds.
The matchup marked the first time that neither team scored at least 50 points since the Huskies escaped Matthews Arena with an identical 49-48 win on March 4, 1982.
The Huskies won the previous one-point decision at home as well on Nov. 9, 2012.

UP NEXT

The Terriers will visit former America East rival and current defending conference champion Hartford on Thursday (Nov. 18) at 7 p.m.
BU will be facing the Hawks for the first time since leaving the conference in the summer of 2013 for the Patriot League.