John Holland had a team-high seven boards. Brooks CanadayThe Terriers weren’t afraid of change.
After a shift in offensive philosophy for the Boston University men’s basketball team (6-14, 3-5 America East), sophomore forward Scott Brittain shifted his play, turning in his best performance of the season as the Terriers defeated the University of Maine (6-15, 2-6), 56-49, last night at Alfond Arena.
The Black Bears remain winless at home during conference play (0-5).
Brittain, who had struggled during league play — reaching double-digit points in one of his previous five games — scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting (6-of-6 from the line). Brittain took advantage of an offense — once focused on guards beating their men off the dribble — that instituted more interior screening.
“Scott played his best game of the year,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff.
But it was Brittain’s defense that sewed up the win, as he stole the ball from sophomore guard Mark Socoby and blocked junior guard Kaimondre Owes’ shot in the final two minutes. The Terrier defense pressured the Black Bears, who average 18.8 turnovers per game, into 21 giveaways.
“The guys really worked hard in the backcourt,” Wolff said. “They got turnovers out of sheer effort.”
After leading by as many as nine in the second half, the Black Bears surged to within two behind Socoby (19 points). But the BU lead held strong, as the Terriers stayed perfect from the free-throw line until the final seconds.
“Sometimes, when you look at it, you can tell one team is playing harder — that was us,” Wolff said.
Sophomore leading scorer Corey Lowe wasn’t expected to play after missing three games with knee bursitis, so much so that the team didn’t bring his usual No. 13 jersey to Orono. But when Lowe felt much better before game-time, he threw on a different uniform: No. 14. Lowe finished with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting off the bench.
“Corey was miraculous. After not playing ball, and barely practicing yesterday,” Wolff said.
Freshman John Holland continued his stretch of strong play, putting up 15 points (6-of-6 from the line) and a team-high seven rebounds while having a hand in many key plays down the stretch and getting open for two jams.
The Terriers will continue to tweak and rework their offense as they head to the University of New Hampshire Saturday in Durham.
“It’s the type of thing where have to keep doing it,” Wolff said. “We need repetition and patience.”
But, more than anything else for a Terrier squad now 3-5 in conference play: “It’s nice to win a road game,” Wolff said.
