Northeastern used a 30-7 closing run, holding Boston University without a field goal for the final 8:12, to come back and beat the Terriers, 63-48, Sunday afternoon in front of 4,316 fans at Agganis Arena. The win secures the Huskies' first season sweep of BU since the 1998-99 season, puts the two teams in a second-place tie, and increases the likelihood of Northeastern earning the No. 2 seed in the America East Championship.
Up 23-18 coming out of the locker room, Boston University (19-6, 13-3 America East) extended the lead to eight three times after the break, the last one on Etienne Brower's bucket with 11:51 left, which put his team ahead, 41-33. The Huskies (17-8, 13-3) then ran off 30 of the game's final 37 points to win going away.
Sophomore forward Bennet Davis and senior guard Marcus Barnes started the run with three-pointers on consecutive possessions. Barnes canned another shot from beyond the arc with 8:33 on the clock, which gave NU a 44-43 lead, its first since midway through the first half.
Brower's basket with 8:18 remaining gave BU its last lead, 45-44. It was also the Terriers' final field goal, as they shot 0-for-13 the rest of the way.
Freshman forward Shawn James' layup with 6:26 to go put the Huskies up 46-45, and Northeastern never looked back.
Eleven of the Huskies' last 15 points came from the stripe. Six of those came courtesy of junior guard Jose Juan Barea.
"I was happy with our defense down the stretch," head coach Ron Everhart said. "They struggled shooting the ball at the end, and we were able to make some free throws. That and our defense was what won us the game."
Barnes, who was dreadful in the first half, when he made just one of his 10 shots, came alive in the second. He scored 17 of his game-high 20 points after the intermission, and tied a season high with seven rebounds.
Barea did not have one of better games, but he, too, came through when it mattered most. He did not score his first basket of the game until 4:31 into the second half, and finished with just 10 points, tying his season low.
Shortly after that hoop, Barea came down hard on the floor after missing a shot. He displayed his resiliency, scoring eight points and dishing out four assists after leaving the game briefly.
James recorded his third career double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Like Barnes and Barea, he did much of his damage in the second half, when he scored 10 points and pulled down eight boards.
Northeastern held BU to 5.9 percent (1-for-17) shooting from three-point range. The Terriers did not help themselves from the line, where they were just 7-for-16 (43.8 percent), including 0-for-9 in the second stanza.
Janon Cole's jumper put NU up 10-9 with 12:06 to go in the first half, but BU followed with a 10-0 run to take a 19-10 lead. Rashad Bell scored six in a row in that stretch, the last two on a thunderous alley-oop from Chaz Carr.
After Cole's bucket, the Huskies were held scoreless for a span of more than six minutes. Barnes ended the drought with a three-pointer at 5:50.
Northeastern trailed 23-18 at the half. The 18 points are the fewest NU has scored in a half this season.
The Huskies host New Hampshire on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Northeastern vs Boston University
02/20/05 4 p.m. at Agganis Arena, Boston, Mass.
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VISITORS: Northeastern 17-8, 13-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 Barnes, Marcus...... * 7-18 4-12 2-2 2 5 7 1 20 2 1 0 4 35
05 Barea, Jose Juan.... * 2-17 0-6 6-8 1 3 4 4 10 6 3 0 2 32
14 Davis, Bennet....... * 3-7 2-3 1-4 2 6 8 1 9 1 0 3 2 35
21 James, Shawn........ * 6-8 0-0 4-6 3 7 10 4 16 1 2 2 0 27
22 Kelly, Bobby........ * 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 17
10 Kirkland, Jerome.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
11 Martinez, Adrian.... 0-3 0-3 0-1 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 14
12 Davis, Aaron........ 1-6 0-2 2-4 3 1 4 2 4 1 0 1 0 21
33 Cole, Janon......... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 18
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 21-62 6-26 15-25 14 31 45 15 63 14 7 6 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 7-30 23.3% 2nd Half: 14-32 43.8% Game: 33.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-17 11.8% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 23.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-21 61.9% Game: 60.0% 6
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HOME TEAM: Boston University 19-6, 13-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 BELL, Rashad........ f 7-10 0-0 3-6 1 5 6 3 17 0 1 0 0 28
21 BROWER, Etienne..... f 5-14 0-3 1-2 1 9 10 3 11 0 1 0 0 36
31 GARDNER, Kevin...... f 2-8 0-1 2-4 7 4 11 3 6 1 2 1 1 32
20 WYNN, Shaun......... g 1-4 0-2 0-2 3 3 6 5 2 7 4 0 1 36
22 CARR, Chaz.......... g 2-18 1-9 1-2 2 4 6 4 6 2 4 0 1 37
02 WOLFF, Matt......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 10
03 GEFFEN, Bryan....... 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 6
23 GAFFNEY, Tony....... 2-4 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 4 2 0 0 1 11
50 PETERKIN, Omari..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 2 2 4 1
Totals.............. 20-61 1-17 7-16 16 31 47 21 48 12 16 1 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd Half: 10-33 30.3% Game: 32.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-8 12.5% 2nd Half: 0-9 0.0% Game: 5.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 5-9 55.6% Game: 43.8% 3
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Officials: Rich Giallella, Jack Sweeney, John Hughes
Technical fouls: Northeastern-Barnes, Marcus. Boston University-BELL,
Rashad.
Attendance: 4316
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Northeastern.................. 18 45 - 63
Boston University............. 23 25 - 48
Points in the paint-NU 24,BU 20. Points off turnovers-NU 20,BU 7.
2nd chance points-NU 12,BU 8. Fast break points-NU 6,BU 6.
Bench points-NU 6,BU 6. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-9 times.
Last FG-NU 2nd-00:17, BU 2nd-08:18.
