Boston U. comes back, tops Northeastern 72-69

Nov 10, 2013, 04:40 pm

BOSTON -- John Papale scored 6 straight points in the closing minutes to give Boston University the lead and help spur a 72-69 comeback over Northeastern on Sunday at TD Garden in the season opener for both teams.

Boston (1-0) trailed 65-58 with five minutes to play but finished the game on a 14-4 run. Down 67-62, Papale hit a 3-pointer and made three free throws in a span of less than a minute to give the Terriers the lead for good. Papale finished with 13 points while Maurice Watson Jr. led Boston with 16.

Trailing 70-69 in the waning seconds, Northeastern (0-1) had the ball with a chance to win but David Walker turned the ball over with three seconds left. Zach Stahl led Northeastern with 16 points.

Northeastern won last year's season-opening contest over Boston 65-64 on a 3-pointer with one second left.