Paul Seymour scored a game-high 26 points to lead Boston University to a 79-72 win over Northeastern in an America East game at Solomon Court.
BU (4-2) trailed 31-27 at halftime, but rallied behind the shooting of Seymour, who hit 3-4 three-point attempts in the second half. NU dropped to 1-5, completing a four-game homestand with three losses. It was the America East opener for both teams.
Ryan Butt finished with 14 points for BU and Derrick Graham added 11. Freshman Jean Francois led three Huskies in double figures with a season-high 18 points, while Charles Cranford added 16 and Marcus Blossom 12.
Jean Bain made a three-pointer to give NU its last lead of the night, 56-55, with 8:04 left to play. Graham then hit a pair of free throws to start a 9-0 BU run. Seymour capped the surge with a three-pointer that put the Terriers up 64-56 with 5:06 remaining. The Huskies got back within four points, down 65-61, on a pair of Blossom free throws with 4:16 left. NU would get no closer, however, as Butt converted a three-point play to make it 68-61 with 4:04 showing. After Francois sank a jumper for NU, Seymour buried another big three-pointer that gave the Terriers a 71-63 advantage with 3:00 left. BU made six of eight free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win.
The game was tight throughout with 10 lead changes and six ties. The teams traded baskets in the first half with the lead never growing larger than three on either side until a late 11-3 NU run gave the Huskies a 31-24 lead. The seven-point edge was their largest of the game and came with 18 seconds left. Seymour hit a three-pointer for BU as time expired in the first half to make it a 31-27 NU lead at the break.
Seymour, who finished 9-17 from the field and 6-9 from beyond the arc, also added eight rebounds. Francois had six rebounds and four blocks for the Huskies.
BU, which knocked NU out of last season's America East playoffs in the first round, has now won four straight meetings against its crosstown rival and leads the all-time series 62-59.
VISITORS: Boston University 4-2 (1-0 AE)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 Fitzgerald, Kevin * 1-3 0-0 5-8 1 1 2 2 7 3 2 0 2 27
05 Seymour, Paul * 9-17 6-9 2-4 2 6 8 1 26 0 1 0 0 33
31 Dhondt, Stijin * 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 3 2 4 2 0 1 29
34 Turner, Matt * 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 0 5 2 1 0 0 24
43 Butt, Ryan * 5-6 0-0 4-4 3 1 4 1 14 1 3 0 0 20
10 Breland, Derrick 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 14
21 Graham, Derrick 3-3 0-0 5-5 2 2 4 4 11 0 1 0 0 17
23 Kudlacz, Jacob 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 9
24 Grochowalski, Jason 0-3 0-0 8-9 0 2 2 3 8 0 1 0 0 15
30 Collins, Billy 2-6 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 1 4 0 1 1 0 12
TEAM ........................................ 1 2 3
TOTALS 24-52 7-16 24-30 13 24 37 15 79 11 14 1 3 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 11-28 39.3% 2ndH: 13-24 54.2% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 46.2% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 2-8 25.0% 2ndH: 5-8 62.5% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 43.8% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 3-4 75.0% 2ndH: 21-26 80.8% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 80.0% 4
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 1-5 (0-1 AE)
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
No. N A M E FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Bain, Jean * 2-8 2-6 1-2 1 0 1 3 7 8 0 1 1 35
23 Francois, Jean * 9-13 0-0 0-2 4 2 6 3 18 2 2 4 0 35
30 Blossom, Marcus * 4-14 2-5 2-2 2 3 5 2 12 6 0 0 2 39
32 Barnes, Dwayne * 4-9 1-4 0-0 1 1 2 5 9 2 2 1 0 23
34 Hammick, Tyrone * 4-7 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 4 8 0 2 0 1 24
03 Morris, Cleophus 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
04 West, Tim 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 9
22 Cranford, Charles 6-12 1-4 3-5 0 2 2 3 16 1 0 0 1 28
40 Aygar, George 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 3 0 0 4
TEAM ........................................ 0 4 4 1
TOTALS 30-64 6-19 6-11 13 17 30 24 72 19 11 6 5 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 15-29 51.7% 2ndH: 15-35 42.9% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 46.9% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 1-7 14.3% 2ndH: 5-12 41.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 31.6% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 0-2 00.0% 2ndH: 6-9 66.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 54.5% 2
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OFFICIALS: Richard Giallella, Joe Vigna, Gary Agger
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Boston University - none
Northeastern - none
ATTENDANCE: 1040
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Boston University 27 52 79
Northeastern 31 41 72
Barnes (NU) fouls out at 0:36
