Demetrius Pollard hit a three pointer as time expired to lift the Northeastern Huskies to a thrilling 65-64 season-opening victory over the Boston University Terriers on Friday night in Matthews Arena in Boston. The game was the third consecutive season opening victory for Northeastern over BU, all won in the final possession or in overtime.
It was the Terriers that jumped out to an early lead. Behind ten first half points from D.J. Irving, BU steadily clawed their way to a nine-point halftime lead. However, the game would tighten in the second half, and Northeastern would ride Joel Smith and Reggie Spencer for 12 second-half points each to keep the game close at the end. Smith had the ball with a chance to win down one late, but the ball was stolen by BU's Travis Robinson with 11 seconds left. Smith immediately fouled Robinson, who could have stretched the Terrier lead to four with a couple of free throws. But Robinson would miss the second, setting the stage for Pollard's heroics at the buzzer. It was Pollard's only field goal of the game.
Smith had 20 points to lead Northeastern, while Spencer chipped in 18. Irving paced BU with 18. The Huskies return to the court on November 13 against Princeton, while BU travels to Canisius on November 12.