The shot looked good leaving his hands — a quick flick of the wrist from junior guard Matt Turner — and would have tied the game up at 68 with less than 20 seconds remaining.
There are no points for aesthetics in basketball, however, and the shot, already halfway down, rattled out, taking the Terriers’ hopes of an undefeated conference season with it.
Turner could only shake his head at a game that started so promising, with seven points and three assists in the first 10 minutes. When the final buzzer sounded, BU had lost to Northeastern 72-69, and Turner was 4-15, including 2-9 from three-point range.
In his place, forwards Rashad Bell and Billy Collins took charge offensively, scoring 42 of the team’s 69 points and nearly bringing BU to victory.
Bell scored a career-high 24, to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks, while Collins finished with 18 and nine rebounds.
‘Rashad Bell played a very, very good game all the way around,’ said head coach Dennis Wolff.
What he didn’t say, but could have, is that Bell has become the most reliable offensive weapon for the Terriers, and is probably BU’s best player right now.
The Queens native put his stamp on the game in the last two minutes of the first half, converting two three-point plays in the span of 64 seconds. The second one put the Terriers up 38-28 and got the crowd on its feet, as Bell walked off the court with his arms raised, urging the BU faithful to get loud.
It appeared the Terriers had taken an insurmountable lead with 16:30 remaining, after Collins scored a quick five points to put the Terriers up 46-30.
Northeastern answered with a 7-0 run, but again the frontcourt combination of Bell and Collins scored BU’s next seven points, pushing the lead up to 53-42.
Meanwhile, the guards continued to struggle to get anything going. Neither Turner nor his backcourt mate, sophomore Chaz Carr, could find their shots the entire game.
‘We are not going to win many games with our starting guards shooting 4-19,’ Wolff said. ‘These are college kids and they’re entitled to have bad games, but that’s just the reality of where we are.’
Turner’s three in the second half were the only points for the tandem, as the forwards carried the offensive load. Turner had a chance to electrify the crowd following his trey and he soared from the right block toward the basket looking to throw down a one-handed dunk while stopping the Huskies momentum.
Instead, Turner, who had slowed to elevate for his dunk, had his attempt blocked by Northeastern’s Aaron Davis. Following the block, the Huskies went on a 14-0 run, turning a 10-point deficit into a four-point lead.
‘I thought that [the blocked dunk] was a horrible possession,’ Wolff said. ‘We need to make a lay-up there.
‘Ryan [Butt] had the rebound and he didn’t put it in either.’
Once again, the Terriers looked to get the ball inside, and one player in particular answered the, well, the Bell.
Rashad’s follow dunk cut the Huskies lead in half, the first of three consecutive field goals for the 6’8′ forward.
Wolff urged his team to continue attacking the hoop, and Bell did that with authority, scoring on two consecutive driving layups, both of which gave the Terriers one-point leads. The second score was the last time BU would lead in the contest.
Bell was able to do all of this while maintaining a conversation with Northeastern’s Javorie Wilson every trip down the floor. It was hard to tell what they were discussing, but it didn’t appear to be about the recent New England cold front or possible invasion plans of Iraq.
After Northeastern’s Jose Juan Barea hit his three and Turner’s narrowly missed, it became clear the Terriers were going to come up short.
Better days are ahead for the BU backcourt, but Saturday was a forgettable performance. The forwards, and Bell in particular, had one of their strongest performances in conference play.
With his improved jump shot, ability to finish near the basket and near-automatic free throw shooting, Bell has become one of the toughest players to guard in the America East.
In addition, he appears to lead the team in elaborate pre-game handshakes and chest bumps.
When the Terriers travel to the University of Maine on Wednesday, they will do so knowing that Bell’s consistency, a question mark earlier in the season, appears to have been answered.
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