By Max Lederman
It’s March and the Northeastern men’s basketball team is angry. Sunday afternoon, in front of a raucous home crowd, the Huskies (15-14, 8-8 America East) lost the most exiting game they have played all season to the Boston University Terriers 76-65.
The last game of the regular season, which was close from tip-off until the waning minutes of the second half, was everything one might expect from a bean town battle.
“I think we match up pretty well with BU,” NU coach Ron Everhart said.
The Terriers used a late 23-9 run to take this one away from the Huskies and improve their America East leading record to 13-3, and their overall record to 18-9.
“BU is a good team and tonight they made shots,” Everhart said.
The Huskies, who were paced by Javorie Wilson’s 20 points, had a three-point lead with 6:09 remaining in the game before the Terriers went on their decisive run which included a crowd silencing slam by Billy Collins and a dream shattering trey by Paul Seymour. Aaron Davis, who has played with an injured shoulder all season long, was second on the team with 15 points off the bench while freshman point guard Jose Juan Barea dropped 13 points in his second game back after missing three games for an NCAA eligibility rules violation. Barea led the team with 11 points in the first half but was held to just two points in the second half due to 1-5 shooting from the floor.
“Jose got into foul trouble,” Everhart said of his freshman guard. “We had to sit him for around eight minutes and I think he tightened up while on the bench.”
At the start of the second period of play, the Terriers busted out an 8-2 run that improved their four-point halftime lead to 10 with 15:42 left to play in the regular season. The Dogs would cut the lead and eventually gain a three-point edge before BU took over the game. Throughout the first half, the intensity levels for both teams were at an all time high. For every run, there was an answer and for every answer, there was another run. The Huskies fought back from a 12-point deficit to come within four points of the Terriers at the break.
Seymour had two of his team leading three treys in the first half and led all scorers with 14 points at halftime. Although NU pulled down more offensive boards than BU did, they were unable to capitalize, being outscored in second chance points 17-6. The game was senior guard Jamaar Walker’s last regular season game as a Husky. Walker had three points and seven dimes in the season finale. The win for BU avenges the 72-69 loss the Huskies gave them back on Jan. 25. The loss, which was BU’s first conference loss of the season, saw the Terriers give up a 16-point second half lead to NU.
On a much brighter note, NU busted out Wednesday night and gave the Albany Great Danes (7-19, 3-12 America East) a worse beating than Roy Jones Jr. gave Jon Ruiz on Saturday night. However, unlike Jones Jr., the Huskies used alley-oops instead of left jabs to bloody up the Great Danes. Javorie Wilson led the team with 17 points in the Dogs 69-54 win. In their first game together since Jan. 31, Barea and Sylbrin Robinson put on a show in front of the home crowd with three nasty alley-oops.
“We try to get behind the zones and find opportunities for alley-oops,” Everhart said.
In just his third game back from what many thought would be a season ending elbow injury, Robinson had his 14th double-double of the season with 14-points and 12-boards to go along with his game-high five rejections.
Barea put up 15-points in the winning effort. Throughout the game the Huskies displayed great team basketball. Every player on the court for NU scored during a 14-0 first half run that gave the Dogs a 13-point lead with just over four minutes remaining before the break. The win was NU’s second victory over Albany this season.
With Sunday’s loss to BU being the last game of the regular season, the Dogs find themselves the fifth seed in the 2003 Choice Hotels International America East Championship Tournament. NU’s first round opponent is fourth seed Maine, who Huskies have not beaten all season.
“I feel good about playing Maine,” Everhart said. “Although they have beaten us twice, I think we are a better team than we were the last two times we faced them.”
The Huskies were outscored 131-165 in their two losses to Maine this season, and 35 percent of the Black Bear’s 165 points came from beyond the arc. If that doesn’t worry you, Maine’s seven-foot, 235-pound center definitely should. Justin Rowe, who is projected as a second round pick in this years NBA draft by nbadraft.net, swatted away 14 shots in his two meetings with the Huskies this season. “Rowe gets his hands on a lot of shots,” said Everhart.
The tourney begins Sunday March 9 at BU’s Case Gym.
