Men’s basketball opens season with victory over Northeastern

In its first game of its 2013-14 campaign, the Boston University men’s basketball team came from behind to defeat crosstown rival Northeastern University 72-69 Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. The win marked the Terriers’ first victory over the Huskies in four years.

Sophomore guard Maurice Watson Jr., senior guard D.J. Irving, sophomore forward Nathan Dieudonne, sophomore guard John Papale and senior forward Dom Morris started the game for the Terriers (1-0).

Northeastern (0-1) won the tip and Husky forward Scott Eatherton immediately drove the ball to the basket, recording the game’s first points. The Terriers answered, as Watson hit a lay-up and Papale subsequently buried a 3-pointer to give the Terriers a 5-2 lead with 18 minutes remaining in the half. From there, the momentum shifted back and forth as both teams struggled to find a consistent source of offense.

Freshman forward Cedric Hankerson came off the bench with 13:56 remaining in the half, catalyzing the Terrier offense. Hankerson made two free throws with 7:17 remaining, and on the next possession, he buried a 3-pointer to give BU a 30-23 lead.

“I wasn’t shocked that [Hankerson] came out and played as well as he did,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “He’s a very talented player. … He found an opening and we found him. He’s a talented player with a promising future.”

Northeastern went on a 9-4 run to bring the score to 34-32 with 2:08 remaining, but the Terriers fought back, going into halftime on a 4-0 run and widening the lead to 38-32. Hankerson’s eight points led the Terriers at the break, followed by Irving’s six points and two assists.

With the Terriers’ three tallest players (freshman forward Dylan Haines, sophomore forward Justin Alston and sophomore center Blaise Mbargorba) unavailable, BU struggled to defend and score in the paint. As such, Northeastern dominated the inside game.

Eatherton recorded a double-double on the day with 15 points and 10 rebounds while also contributing three blocks and two steals.

“It didn’t shock me that he had the game that he did, but we were ready to play against him today in terms of knowing that he might be as good as advertised — and he was,“ Jones said.

The Huskies made a strong run to start the second half, tying the score at 48-48 with 14:27 to go in the game. Northeastern took the lead soon after, and led 65-62 with 2:58 remaining.

Watson continually used his speed to slash through the Husky defense and drive to the basket. He recorded 10 second-half points, but none more important than when he got the ball at the top of the key with less than a minute remaining in the game and BU up by one. Irving sized up his defender and dribbled straight to the basket to put the Terriers up by three with 45 seconds remaining in the game.

“I saw that [sophomore guard David Walker] was leaning, and I chose to refuse it,” Watson said. “I did a little Eurostep. That was some improv at the last minute. I just wanted to take it strong to the hoop. If we were going to win that game, I wanted it to be on my shoulder.”

Northeastern brought the ball down the court with 41 seconds remaining in the contest, looking for an open shot. Husky coach Bill Coen called a timeout with four seconds remaining to set up a potential game-winning basket. Junior forward Malik Thomas then came up huge for the Terriers, intercepting the following inbound pass and clinching the game for BU.

In addition to Watson, Morris and Papale also stepped up for the Terriers. Morris had 12 points and four rebounds on the day, while Papale drained two clutch 3-pointers.

“I just thought it was a great game all around,” Jones said. “What I’m most proud of with our guys is we knew they were going to make a run, and in the second half they made their run and our guys really just stayed with it and made key plays down the stretch.”