BOSTON — Behind a last-second gaming-winning 3-pointer by sophomore
Demetrius Pollard (Virginia Beach, Va.), the Northeastern Huskies captured a dramatic season-opening victory over crosstown rival Boston University, 65-64, at Matthews Arena on Friday night.
Trailing by two in the waning moments, Pollard nailed his unmarked jumper from distance with just over a second remaining. BU's full-court toss at the buzzer was off the mark, giving NU the win and touching off a raucous celebration by the partisan crowd of 3,242.
The win was Northeastern's third straight in the rivalry — and the third time in as many years the Huskies have opened the season with a win over the Terriers. NU now has won seven of the last nine head-to-head meetings.
Senior
Joel Smith (Leander, Texas) led all scorers with 20 points for the Huskies, going 9-for-12 from the charity stripe, while sophomore
Reggie Spencer (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) added a career-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Quincy Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla.) added 11 points, giving NU three players in double figures, and tied for the game high with nine rebounds.
Marco Banegas-Flores (Boston, Mass.) scored six points in his first career start, while rookie
Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.) scored five in his collegiate debut. Pollard finished with four points, three of which came on his dramatic buzzer-beater.
Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.) added one point in his first collegiate action.
Preseason all-conference selection D.J Irving led the Terriers (0-1) with 18 points. Malik Thomas added 13. Nathan Dieudonne and Travis Robinson each pulled down nine rebounds to equal Ford's tally.
Trailing 35-26 at halftime, Northeastern opened the second-half scoring with a jumper from true freshman Stahl and kept the momentum rolling. Spencer capped an 8-4 run to make the score 39-34 heading into the second stoppage of the half, as the Huskies vaulted back into contention.
Out of the timeout, BU picked up four costly fouls in less than a minute, providing Northeastern with added momentum and important future trips to the charity stripe.
Two Spencer free throws at the 13:19 mark brought the Huskies to within one, 39-38 — the smallest margin separating the two sides since the 10:30 mark of the first half.
After two BU free throws, another foul put Smith on the line with NU in the bonus. The preseason all-conference honoree knocked down the front end to make it a two-point contest, 41-39.
A tip-in by the Terriers' James Kennedy and a three by Robinson, sandwiched around a free throw by NU's Pollard, pushed the BU advantage to six, 46-40, with 11:50 remaining.
Northeastern freshman Peck notched his first career point in a Northeastern uniform with a free throw on the next possession, and Smith shed contact to convert a tough bucket to narrow the margin to 46-43 with 10:59 to play.
Following two more BU free throws, Smith converted a lay up and then, with 8:10 remaining, brought the partisan house to its feet with a game-tying three, knotting the score at 48-48.
Heading into another stoppage at 6:59, the game was deadlocked at 50-50.
Just over a minute later, Ford converted one of two free throws to give the home team its first lead, 53-52, since midway through the first half.
From that point, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair that featured eight lead changes and five ties in the final five minutes and 30 seconds.
After BU grabbed a three-point advantage, tying the largest lead in the game's final 10 minutes, Northeastern responded. Spencer scored underneath the basket. Ford then hit a free throw and Spencer navigated the lane, with ease this time, to put the Huskies up 62-60 with just 1:30 left on the clock.
The visitors, though, were not done. On the Terriers' next possession, following a 30-second timeout, Thomas connected on a clutch 3-pointer from the corner to grab a one-point lead, 63-62, with just over a minute to play.
That set up a dramatic final minute of action. Both sides traded missed 3-point attempts and a late BU steal forced a Northeastern foul. The Terriers' Travis Robinson converted the first, to give BU a 64-62 lead, but missed the second, giving the Huskies hope.
In a well-executed final possession, Banegas-Flores pushed the ball up the sideline and spotted Pollard, running free at the top of the key off a screen by Spencer. The Virginia Beach, Va., native calmly sank the game-winner, returning Boston bragging rights to Huntington Avenue for another year.
For the game, Northeastern shot 45 percent (21-47), but was just 20 percent (3-15) from long range. NU shot 69 percent (20-29) from the charity stripe. BU shot 39 percent (24-61) for the game, including 23 percent (5-22) from deep and 79 percent (11-14) from the free throw line. BU out rebounded the Huskies, 39-29.
A replay of this game is available at
GoNU.com/xstream. GoNUxstream is free to all viewers and features live and on-demand video and audio broadcasts, as well as live game stats, and is accessible on PC and Mac computers, as well as on iPhones, iPads and Android phones.
The Huskies return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Princeton to face the Tigers in a 7 p.m. tip. NU is 2-2 all-time against Princeton in a series that dates to 1979.
Game notes
> Northeastern now has defeated Boston University in three straight season openers
> NU has won seven of the last nine head-to-head meetings in the rivalry with BU
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