Boston University used a late 18-3 run to turn a three-point deficit into a double-figure lead and defeated Northeastern 76-65 in an America East game at Solomon Court on Sunday.
BU's Rashad Bell had a career-high 26 points (breaking his personal best of 24 set earlier this year in a loss to NU), while teammate Paul Seymour added 21. Javorie Wilson led the Huskies with 20 points, and Aaron Davis added 15 off the bench. Freshman point guard Jose Juan Barea finished with 13 points.
NU (15-14, 8-8 America East) led 56-53 with 6:09 left before BU (18-9, 13-3 America East) started its decisive run. The first six points of the surge were each from the line and they were unanswered as the Terriers took the lead for good, 59-56 with 4:20 to go. NU was 0-3 from the floor with four turnovers in the next several minutes, while BU made four straight field goals, including a thunderous dunk by Billy Collins (nine points) and a back-breaking three-pointer by Seymour that put BU up 69-59 with only 1:26 showing.
After leading 34-30 at the half, the Terriers came out hot to start the second half, using an 8-2 run to open a 10-point lead. Chaz Carr (11 points) capped the spurt with a layup to make it a 42-32 BU edge with 15:42 left. NU answered a three-pointer to tie the game at 48 with 10:01 left. He had 10 of NU's 16 points in the run. Bell converted a three-point play at the other end for a 51-48 BU advantage, but the Huskies scored eight of the game's next 10 points. Wilson ended the 8-2 run with five straight points as NU matched its largest edge of the day, going up three, 56-53.
It was a tightly contested first half as well. Seymour had 14 points on 6-8 shooting, including two three-point field goals, as the Terriers built a 34-30 halftime edge. Barea was the catalyst of the NU offense as he posted a team-high 11 points.
The first 10 minutes of play featured back-and-forth action that had seven lead changes. A Collins layup at the 11:09 mark gave BU a 16-15 lead and sparked an 18-5 Terrier run. BU took its largest lead of the half, 32-20, courtesy of a three pointer by Collins, capping the run with 5:14 left before the break.
The Huskies then responded with a 10-2 run to close the half and cut the BU lead to four, 34-30. Robinson ignited the NU surge on the defensive end as he blocked two shots on consecutive breaks to help the Huskies gain momentum before the end of the first frame.
BU's win avenged a 72-69 loss to the Huskies on Jan. 25, which was the first conference loss of the season for the Terriers.
Next up for both teams is the America East Championship at BU's Walter Brown Arena on March 9-10. NU will be seeded fifth and meet the fourth seed, which will be the loser of Sunday's Maine-Hartford game. BU is the top seed and will play eighth seed New Hampshire in the first quarterfinal game next Sunday at noon. For complete pairings, visit America East's official website, americaeast.com, Sunday evening.
VISITORS: Boston University 18-9, 13-3 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 * 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 0 16
05 Seymour, Paul * 8-13 3-5 2-2 2 4 6 1 21 2 2 0 1 31
13 Bell, Rashad * 7-9 2-2 10-11 1 5 6 2 26 0 1 2 3 31
30 Collins, Billy * 3-8 1-3 2-5 4 5 9 1 9 2 0 2 1 33
43 Butt, Ryan * 1-3 1-1 0-0 0 5 5 4 3 4 2 0 1 26
20 Wynn, Shaun 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
22 Carr, Chaz 3-7 0-1 5-6 0 1 1 1 11 2 1 0 2 26
24 Grochowalski, Jason 0-4 0-2 0-0 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 13
31 Gardner, Kevin 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 11
34 Turner, Matt 0-5 0-5 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 12
TEAM ........................................ 0 1 1
TOTALS 25-54 7-20 19-24 11 24 35 14 76 11 11 5 8 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 14-31 45.2% 2ndH: 11-23 47.8% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 46.3% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 4-13 30.8% 2ndH: 3-7 42.9% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 35.0% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 2-3 66.7% 2ndH: 17-21 81.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 79.2% 4
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HOME TEAM: Northeastern 15-14, 8-8 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
04 Wilson, Javorie * 6-16 3-8 5-6 0 1 1 5 20 1 6 0 2 35
05 Barea, Jose Juan * 5-13 1-5 2-2 1 3 4 4 13 2 1 0 1 32
20 Walker, Jamaar * 1-4 0-1 1-2 0 1 1 2 3 7 1 0 0 25
30 Wright, Cornellius * 0-0 0-0 2-4 2 0 2 3 2 0 0 0 1 22
33 Robinson, Sylbrin * 3-6 0-1 0-1 5 7 12 4 6 0 5 3 0 34
12 Davis, Aaron 6-12 2-7 1-1 2 3 5 3 15 0 0 0 1 27
15 Keys, Derrell 1-4 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 0 4 1 0 0 2 17
32 Dunn, Jesse 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6
52 Oliynyk, Gene 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2
TEAM ........................................ 1 3 4
TOTALS 23-56 6-23 13-18 13 19 32 21 65 11 14 4 7 200
TOT-FG 1stH: 13-29 44.8% 2ndH: 10-27 37.0% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 41.1% Deadbl
3pt-FG 1stH: 1-9 11.1% 2ndH: 5-14 35.7% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 26.1% Rebs
FThrow 1stH: 3-4 75.0% 2ndH: 10-14 71.4% OT: 0-0 00.0% Game: 72.2% 1
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OFFICIALS: Bill Laubenstein, Jeff Bryant, Paul Faia
TECHNICAL FOULS:
Boston University - none
Northeastern - none
ATTENDANCE: 1820
SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT1 OT2 OT3 OT4 TOTAL
Boston University 34 42 76
Northeastern 30 35 65
PTS IN THE PAINT: Boston University - 26 Northeastern - 22
PTS OFF TURNOVERS: Boston University - 19 Northeastern - 06
2ND CHANCE POINTS: Boston University - 17 Northeastern - 06
FAST BREAK POINTS: Boston University - 02 Northeastern - 08
