Men’s basketball falls short in overtime vs. Northeastern

Playing in front of an energized crowd in its season opener, the Boston University men’s basketball team showed resilience against Northeastern University Friday night.

However, the Huskies (1-0), who made the NCAA Tournament last year, got the last laugh, as redshirt senior Caleb Donnelly sunk a 3-point shot in the corner with 16 seconds remaining in overtime to give Northeastern the 87-84 win over the Terriers (0-1). It was the third straight overtime game between the two teams at Case gym.

Friday’s game marked the sixth straight year the two teams opened the season against one another, with Northeastern coming away victorious last year with a 71-65 win. BU coach Joe Jones said he is impressed every year by the competitive play from both teams.

“Every game is the same game,” Jones said. “The first year, play goes into overtime, next year they beat us at the buzzer, next year we’re down and come back and win, last year they beat us by five, overtime this year. It’s been a great rivalry, it’s always been a great game.

“I’m really proud of our guys tonight,” Jones continued. “They showed resolve, they showed a level of toughness that I’ve been looking for from them. I’m just proud of how they competed. It’s a long road, we just have to keep working, we have to keep being consistent, but I took a lot of positives out of tonight.”

Playing without last season’s leading scorer, junior guard Cedric Hankerson, due to injury and without junior guard Eric Fanning due to suspension, the Terriers relied heavily on senior forward Nathan Dieudonne and senior guard John Papale, who played 38 and 42 minutes, respectively. Papale knocked down four 3-point shots, while Dieudonne recorded a double-double.

However, BU had no answer for Northeastern guard David Walker, who scored 27 points, seven of which came in overtime. He shot 10-for-14 in the game and hit five 3-point shots.

“He’s just so efficient,” Jones said about Walker. “He doesn’t get rushed, he doesn’t get rattled, he plays like a pro. He’s got a good pace, he knows what he’s doing, and then he’s got good size so he shoots over you.

“I think I have to do a better job of recognizing that in the flow of the game,” Jones added, “and we’ve got to be able to come up with something that we’re going to make it hard for guys like this to beat us. But that’s on me as much as it’s on our guys.”

In the first half, the Terriers and Huskies went back and forth, until Northeastern went on a 15-2 run to make it a 23-13 game with 11:48 left in the half. The Terriers immediately responded with a 12-0 run of their own, sparked by sophomore forward Nick Havener’s seven points to give BU a 28-27 lead. Havener finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds.

By the end of the first half, Northeastern held a 40-37 lead over the Terriers. During halftime, Jones reminded his team to be aggressive with the Huskies, and he saw that advice pay off in the second half.

“I thought the key was really the first five minutes of the second half,” Jones said. “We wanted to go out and make a statement in terms of just making a great effort play. I just felt like we couldn’t relax. We’ve been talking about trying to be the aggressor, and tonight I saw that, I just think we have got to keep creating that.”

Thanks to more aggressiveness on offense and better play inside the paint, the Terriers opened things up for sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely, who hit four 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 19 points. Also performing well in the second half was freshman point guard Kyle Foreman, who moved well off the ball to score six points in the half. He finished with 15 points and seven assists in his collegiate debut.

After earning a three-point lead with 3:18 left in the game, the Terriers’ aggressive play came back to bite them, as Foreman and senior forward Justin Alston ended up fouling out of the game. Foul shots allowed Northeastern back in the contest, as the Huskies sent the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, Walker shined for the Huskies. He scored on an impressive post move, and then came back with a 3-point shot just 33 seconds later to give the Huskies a three-point lead. Mosely hit another three of his own to tie the game, but Donnelly scored from the corner to hand the Terriers their first loss of the season.

Despite losing the opening game, Jones was impressed by what he saw from his team.

“I thought that was one of our better games in the last two years we played in terms of the way the game flowed,” Jones said. “We hadn’t looked like that in a long time. We had 21 assists and nine turnovers. If you came to this game last year, it would have been a close game, but it would have been much uglier of a game. Now the team just fits together a lot better, we just have to stay hungry.”

“I think our consistency is going to dictate how well our team plays this year,” Jones added. “If we’re going to have a great attitude and we can stay true to our core values and we can go out and compete every night, we have a chance to be right there where we want to be at the top of the league. But it’s a long way to go, and there’s a lot of work to be done.”