Northeastern men’s basketball (1-0, 0-0 CAA) traveled across town Nov. 4 to play rival Boston University Terriers (0-1, 0-0 CAA), snatching a 80-73 victory for the Huskies in the season opener.
Northeastern and Boston University traditionally match up for the first game of the season, and Northeastern has won twice in the past three years.
Despite losing the the tip-off, Northeastern started off hot with good defending, along with scoring five points almost immediately, beginning with a 5-0 lead.
Both teams stole the ball, but only sometimes resulting in an easy layup. The Terriers used one of their steals from Northeastern to draw a foul from junior guard Harold Woods.
Northeastern junior guard LA Pratt was on fire from the jump in his first game for the Huskies, transferring after playing his first two seasons at Elon University. A little after four minutes, Pratt stole the ball in the air as two Boston University players attempted to pass. He brought it down the court to a dunk, causing a frenzy of excitement from Northeastern fans and widening the gap between the Huskies and the Terriers, 15-5.
Northeastern looked to continue building momentum with a strong defense, but Boston University still had something to prove on its home court. With nine minutes left in the half, the Terriers started to close the gap, narrowing the score to 21-19 with the Huskies barely leading after missing easy free throws.
And soon after, the Terriers managed to tie the game, 21-21, off a two-pointer from Boston University’s freshman guard Azmar Abdullah with eight minutes left in the half.
Despite this surge from Boston University, Northeastern continued attacking offensively — finding depth when most needed. Sophomore guard William Kermoury hit the three to give Northeastern the lead back.
Followed by a layup from the Terriers that tightened the gap again, Northeastern earned an opportunity as Pratt was fouled. With seven minutes left, the Husky notched one of his two free throws attempts, keeping Northeastern in the lead by only two points.
The battle continued back and forth through the rest of the half, an evenly matched game as the score advanced to 39-36. With 15 seconds left before halftime, Northeastern notched one last play as Pratt stalled at the top near the three-point line before driving for a layup, closing the gap even more and leaving Northeastern slightly behind 39-38 at the end of the half.
The second half was filled with fouls penalizing Northeastern.
Less than a minute into the second half, Northeastern got called on a technical foul, but the Terriers’ Miles Brewster, graduate student guard, didn’t capitalize on the opportunity, missing both foul throws.
Boston University maintained their lead 44-40 as Northeastern started to slow down. Pratt missed a three-throw as BU successfully made their three attempts.
Junior center Collin Metcalf kept Northeastern in the game, scoring a two-pointer, bringing the score closer 47-42.
Kermoury stole the ball once again, making a three. Not long after, the Swedish-native made another three due to a foul from the Terriers that came out from under the basket.
Northeastern managed to tie the game at 55 with 11:47 on the clock.
After an excellent job defending by the Huskies caused by a sloppy pass due to Kermoury, Pratt scored, giving the lead back to Northeastern for the first time since the first half, 55-57.
Fouls on both sides began to be called more often. Three fouls on Northeastern did not affect the game as Boston was unable to capitalize.
Junior guard Rashad King made a basket while being fouled. His one three throw after the basket was a success, giving Northeastern a little room to breathe at 59-62. And then, with less than six minutes on the clock, the Huskies took off.
The Terriers were not successful in their scoring attempts while Northeastern continued to grab more points. Northeastern junior forward Alexander Nwagha stole the ball and passed it to Pratt, who slid it to Woods for a layup with a little more than four minutes to go. This brought the score 67-62
Between Pratt’s other three-pointer, Nwagha’s defending Wood’s dunk, Northeastern was on a roll.
The final whistle was called with Northeastern on top 80-73, winning the season opener and continuing their second consecutive win against the Terriers.
The Huskies will take on Princeton at home Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
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