Men’s basketball suffers loss to Northeastern at TD Garden

In what has developed into an intense crosstown rivalry, the Boston University men’s basketball team opened its season with a 71-65 loss to Northeastern University Sunday at TD Garden as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tripleheader.

The revamped Terriers (0-1) looked solid at points and held a nine-point halftime lead, but BU’s inexperience showed as the game wore on.

“I thought that we did some nice things, but we weren’t able to execute in the second half,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “We had a ton of turnovers, and our offense was stagnant. That really hurt us. They did a nice job. They outplayed us in the second half.”

The Terriers had three players reach double figures on the afternoon. Sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson scored 15, and freshman guard Cheddi Mosely went 4-for-4 from the field and made all three of his 3-point attempts in his collegiate debut for 12 points. However, the most impressive player for the Terriers, particularly in the first half, was junior guard John Papale, who added 11 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Jones said much of BU’s gameplan heading into Sunday was focused on containing Northeastern’s (1-0) inside game, which revolves around the reigning Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year forward Scott Eatherton and junior Zach Stahl. The last time the teams played, on Nov. 10, 2013, Eatherton and Stahl combined for 31 of Northeastern’s 69 points and helped the Huskies outrebound BU 41-30.

However, this time around, it was Northeastern’s outside shooting that carried the team. Guard David Walker stole the show with a career-high 23-point performance that included six 3-pointers.

“We really wanted to control the paint, and we thought that they were a team that was going to throw the ball in and drive it and get an offensive rebound,” Jones sad. “We wanted to control the paint by doing a great job in those areas. We were going to contest late on guys like Walker. I felt like if Walker scored 20, we still have a chance to win the game.”

Following a layup by Walker to open the game, Hankerson got the scoring started for the Terriers with a 3-pointer. Stahl converted a layup on the other end, and BU responded with a dunk from junior forward Justin Alston and another Hankerson make from beyond the arc to take an 8-4 lead less than three minutes into the game.

Jones’ team would not relinquish this lead for the remainder of the half. The Huskies cut the lead to two points on two occasions, but BU responded each time and held a 36-27 advantage into halftime.

As a team, the Terriers shot 48.1 percent from the field in the first half with Hankerson’s eight points leading the way.

With the loss of BU’s top playmakers in guards D.J. Irving and Maurice Watson Jr., Papale, who has traditionally been known for his jump shooting abilities, was asked to carry the load more in terms of ball handling. He contributed four points, four rebounds and four assists in the game’s opening 20 minutes.

“The first two years, because of our ability to have two point guards on the floor and kind of play through Maurice and D.J., we didn’t need John to do as much off the dribble, but he could do it,” Jones said. “Now, he’s having a chance to kind of evolve into a guy that’s going to have to carry us at times and show more parts of his game.”

Defensively, the Terriers’ 2-3 zone stymied Northeastern’s offensive attack and held the Huskies to 34.5 percent from the field in the first half. Jones’ squad also won the turnover battle, forcing six turnovers from Northeastern while only committing two.

In the second half, Northeastern’s experience began to take over. Jones went away from the zone defense, and the Huskies, led by their six upperclassmen, went on an 8-0 run that stretched almost two minutes to cut BU’s advantage to 43-42 with 13:55 remaining.

Hankerson finally stopped the bleeding with four free throw makes on consecutive possessions to give his team a 47-44 lead.

However, the Huskies would fight back and regained the lead at the 8:04 mark on a 3-pointer from redshirt junior forward/guard Quincy Ford.

Junior forward Nathan Dieudonne responded with a trey of his own to swing the score back in BU’s favor, but the Terriers then fell into trouble, as Alston picked up his fourth foul with a little over seven minutes left in the contest. Sophomore center Blaise Mbargorba subbed in for Alston and scored two layups, sandwiched between a free throw make from Mosely that put BU up 58-54 with 5:24 remaining.

The lead did not last for long, as the Huskies quickly regained control of the game and earned a 71-65 win.

Jones attributed his team’s second-half struggles to a stagnant offense and inexperience rather than Northeastern’s improved outside shooting. BU shot just 32 percent from the field in the second frame.

“I thought it was more our inability to run good offense in the second half that really impacted the game,” Jones said. “Obviously those guys made some shots, but you’re going to give up something… To me, that’s what they went into the game wanting to do, is play through their post. So, they’re going to take some contested jumpers. You have to live with something.”

Despite the loss, the Terriers had several positives. Playing in their first game in Terrier uniforms, Mosely, Mbargorba and sophomore guard Eric Fanning showed signs of a promising future. Mosely was second on the team in scoring, Fanning added eight points and Mbargorba proved to be a strong inside presence.

“Obviously they were a little nervous,” Papale said of the team’s new players. “Early in the game, you get into a groove and you kind of stop thinking about it. [Northeastern’s] experience made it hard for us down the stretch, and I think our youth showed a little bit. That’s something they’ll learn as time goes on, getting into the offense and getting the ball where it needs to go. I think it’s just inexperience and a little bit of nerves, but I thought they played well.”

Likewise, Jones said he liked what he saw from his young team and noted that the Terriers have a promising future.

“This is a team that, when you look at us in February, you’re going to see a really good basketball team,” Jones said. “We have to get some questions answered. We have so many new faces … You’re talking about two transfers and four freshmen. It just takes time to evolve, and we just have to give ourselves a chance to put together some wins as we’re going through. I liked what I saw. I like our future and what we’re trying to do.”