And to think this could be the end.
With Northeastern University threatening to leave the America East for the supposedly greener pastures of the Colonial Athletic Conference, yesterday’s showdown between the Huskies and the Boston University men’s basketball team might have been the last hurrah between the crosstown rivals.
The game, billed as the sequel to the Jan. 25 battle at Case Gym, definitely lived up to the hype, as the Terriers pulled out a hard-fought 76-65 win at Northeastern’s Solomon Court. While the game had no impact on the upcoming America East Tournament for BU, the Terriers (18-9, 13-3 America East) got revenge for a tough three-point home loss to the Huskies in January.
For the 1,820 fans in attendance on Huntington Avenue, the game began with every indication of a shootout, as both teams dropped shot after difficult shot, running the score to 22-20 just over 10 minutes into the game. The Terriers were led in that first half by senior Paul Seymour, who opened the game with the first three Terrier baskets. The 6-foot 6-inch Liverpool, N.Y. native opened the game six for six from the field, and hit two big three-pointers in the first half that propelled the Terriers to leads as large as 12. But not long after Seymour’s last score of the half, the Huskies went on a 10-2 run to cut the BU lead to 34-30 at the break.
‘I thought we were really careless at the end of the first half,’ said BU coach Dennis Wolff. ‘I didn’t like anything about the way the half ended for us. I thought that we looked tentative, we made a couple turnovers that were unforced in my mind. That’s an aggressive team and if you’re going to beat them you have to make aggressive plays. If you’re back on your heels at all then you’re not going to win the game. That was the point in the game that we stepped backward a little bit.’
The Terriers opened the second half with two threes from two of the tallest players on the roster, as 6-foot 8-inch sophomore Rashad Bell and 6-foot 8-inch junior Ryan Butt both dropped bombs from downtown to widen the BU lead. But just as the Terriers looked ready to deliver their customary early-second half dagger, NU guard Aaron Davis pulled his best MJ impersonation. Davis cut to the baseline on the BU defense, and went up hard for a layup. On his way up, he realized there were more than a few hands between the ball and the rim. With that, Davis hung in the air, dipped under the rim and tossed up a circus shot with enough English that it kissed off the glass and dropped through the hoop. Davis also was fouled on the play, and sank the free throw.
Just moments later, the Huskies tied the game, appropriately on a Davis three-pointer, for the first time since it was 2-2. Not long after, a three-pointer by Javorie Wilson gave the Huskies their first lead of the half at 54-53.
Just seconds later, Northeastern extended their lead to 56-53 and looked poised to steal a second-half win yet again. But after a heated shoving match near the BU bench between Seymour and Northeastern freshman guard Jose Juan Barea, the Terriers took over. Bell swatted a shot away with the Terriers up six and senior Billy Collins capped a drive to the hoop with an emphatic slam to put BU up nine. But appropriately, it was the first-half catalyst Paul Seymour that put delivered the knockout punch with a three from the corner with 1:20 left to put the Terriers up 10.
‘Chaz [sophomore guard Carr] penetrated in there, and the defense collapsed a little bit and I was just wide open,’ Seymour said of the three, which pushed the score to 69-59.
A few free throws and 80 seconds later, the Terriers had a 13-3 conference mark and their first win of the year over their crosstown rivals. While the game had no impact on playoff positioning, Wolff saw no let-up from his players.
‘We’ve got character kids on our team,’ Wolff said. ‘If we’re going to play a game, I’m almost certain that we’re going to give a good effort regardless of what we have to lose or gain. So I think it says that these kids want to continue playing basketball this year and we’re looking forward to the conference tournament and hopefully trying to win some games in that.’
The Terriers finished the day with three players in double figures and two over 20. Bell’s 26 was a career-high, while Seymour’s 21 was his best scoring performance of the season. Northeastern was led by Wilson’s 20, and followed up by 15 from Davis and 13 from Barea.
‘The last game [Jan. 25 at Case Gym], we didn’t have the type of intensity necessary to beat a team like this,’ Wolff said. ‘We had one of those false leads and they kept playing real hard, like they do in every game, and they eventually caught us at the end. I think this game was more typical of what you would have if these two teams played, and if we were to play them again.’
The two teams could square off again as early as Monday night at Walter Brown Arena, as the Huskies will enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed and face a first round matchup with the University of Maine. That game will make up the second portion of Saturday’s afternoon session, and will tip off 30 minutes after BU’s first round game with No. 8 University of New Hampshire.