The most unsatisfying aspect of the men’s basketball team’s loss to Northeastern University last night wasn’t the lack of rebounding, the below-average shooting or the 10 first-half turnovers.
It was the absence of intense emotion, something that should have been spewing out of the Terriers given the storied rivalry between the cross-town teams and the prime-time atmosphere at Case Gymnasium.
“I thought that they had more emotion,” said Boston University coach Dennis Wolff of the Huskies. “They had more life than us, which is disappointing to me, and that’s my fault.”
Northeastern freshman guard Chaisson Allen led all scorers with 20 points, including six key free throws in the final minute, helping hand BU its third consecutive defeat, 65-58. Northeastern has now beaten BU four straight times, though the Terriers still hold a 69-65 advantage in the lifetime series.
“They’re tougher than us right now, physically and mentally,” Wolff said.
In addition to the Terriers’ emotional void, it was Northeastern’s offensive rebounding that made the difference. The Huskies earned 18 extra opportunities while attacking, thanks to their physical, aggressive play inside. Sophomore center Nkem Ojougboh hauled in 11 boards, including five on offense, and netted 11 points.
When the Huskies regained possession after a miss, many of the second-chance looks went to sophomore Manny Adako. He was virtually unstoppable, knocking down short jumpers and baby hooks with ease for 17 points.
The 6-foot-8 power forward also continued the trend of opposing big men playing well against BU. George Washington’s 6-foot-8 Rob Diggs scored 20 last Wednesday, while 6-foot-9 Ahmad Nivins of St. Joseph’s University netted 18 on Saturday.
“I think I had a lucky night, really,” Adako said. “Chaisson really opens things up because he has good court vision. I credit him for why I was 8-of-11.”
Junior co-captain Matt Wolff led BU with 12 points and showed a confidence on offense that hasn’t yet been seen. Playing only his third game in two seasons, the Walpole native took 11 shots (second to only Allen — 14) and didn’t pass up opportunities that he would have in the Terriers’ first three contests.
Sophomore guards Corey Lowe (12) and Carlos Strong (10) struggled for the second consecutive game as the duo went a combined 7-of-21 from the field (3-of-10 from beyond the arc), and weren’t able to get into a rhythm.
Spotty outside shooting, coupled with bad decision-making and the inability to command a fastbreak offense (only seven fastbreak points), highlighted the struggles of BU’s touted guard combo.
“If we’re going to rely on our guards, we should be able to run better than we are,” Wolff said. “And because we’re playing thoughtless at times, we look disorganized.”
Due to Strong’s recent dry spell, junior guard Marques Johnson (four points, four rebounds) got the first start of his collegiate career, and played well — particularly on defense.
Sophomore forward Scott Brittain (10, five rebounds), who impressed against St. Joseph’s University, didn’t execute well underneath. Brittain was just 3-of-9 and missed four “gimme” layups.
“Their posts are very strong players, but that’s no reason for me to miss those easy layups and hook shots,” Brittain said.
“You’re not going to win many games when you have as many offensive opportunities next to the basket and you’re as sloppy as we were,” Wolff said.
Despite a lack of rebounding (NU won the boards battle, 42-35) and nine turnovers in the offensive zone, the Terriers were only down 20-17 with 3:27 remaining in the first half.
Sophomore forward Valdas Sirutis (five points, six rebounds) nailed his first 3-pointer of the season with 44 seconds remaining in the first half to trim Northeastern’s lead to two at the break. Brittain assisted the play, which was sparked by a confident rebound by freshman John Holland.
The Huskies only connected on 10 of their first 35 field goal attempts (28.6 percent), allowing BU to hang around.
Though the Terriers never led, they came close midway through the second. Junior forward Max Gotzler (five points, four rebounds) stripped Eugene Spates of the ball with 13:16 remaining. While still on the floor, Gotzler passed to Lowe, who fed Brittain on a long outlet pass. Brittain dunked it with authority, pulling BU within four and energizing the crowd.
After a bucket by Ojougboh and a layup by Brittain, Lowe converted from the free-throw line to pull within two, 37-35.
However, sophomore guard Baptiste Bataille drained a 3-pointer with 8:29 left, putting NU up six, and Allen delivered the dagger, connecting from beyond the arc with 1:50 remaining to give the Huskies an 11-point edge.
“You get into a game like this and one of these teams is going to give in to fatigue. That was us,” Wolff said. “Then we dropped balls, we didn’t execute our stuff, we didn’t grab rebounds. And that’s disappointing.”