Only two days after it overcame a 16-point deficit against University at Albany to steal a 70-67 win on Saturday afternoon, the Boston University men’s basketball team found itself in a similar 13-point hole against University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Monday night.
Again, the Terriers battled back and led by nine with 4:45 remaining in the game, but this time, they forgot to hang on.
The Retrievers (2-16, 1-4 America East) ended the game with a 16-3 run to steal just their second win of the season from the Terriers (8-11, 3-2 AE) by a final of 71-67. Despite earning its first road win and season-high third straight win of the season against the Great Danes (9-12, 2-4 AE), BU was sent home from the bittersweet road trip with a 1-1 record and its sixth loss by four points or fewer.
“I thought we could have gone 2-0 [on the trip],” BU coach Patrick Chambers said. “I thought we were playing some great, creative basketball. The Albany game was great. We played great the second 20 minutes. Albany is a very good team, so I was really proud of that victory.
“Tonight UMBC just came out and took it from us. We didn’t play very well, but we still played well enough to compete in the end, but UMBC made the plays and we didn’t. It’s unfortunate. It’d be nice to be 2-0, but we’re 1-1.”
The Terriers stuck with the Great Danes to open Saturday’s contest and found themselves in a 12-12 tie with 14:41 remaining in the first half. However, Albany used a 26-10 run over the remainder of the half to build a seemingly insurmountable 38-22 lead at halftime. BU was shooting 30 percent from the field to the Great Danes’ 51 percent at that point.
The Terriers caught fire in the second half to the tune of a 14-4 run to open the frame. Senior forward John Holland and junior guard Darryl Partin contributed six points each in the run, and they finished with 27 and 16 points, respectively.
BU had cut the deficit to six, but Albany threatened to push it back to double digits multiple times, leading by nine points with 13:38 and later 8:52 remaining in the game. From there, the Terriers went on a 13-6 run to take their first lead of the game with 5:31 remaining.
Freshman forward Travis Robinson scored four of his five points in the waning minutes of the game, draining a jumper and a reverse layup for a 66-60 lead with 1:11 remaining, and BU ultimately came away with the 70-67 victory following some timely defensive stops and fair free-throw shooting.
“Travis Robinson is doing some great things,” Chambers said. “As a freshman, he has really bought into what we’re trying to do. He’s doing some great things defensively and rebounding, and a couple big points against Albany.”
Two days and 300 miles later, the Terriers experienced déjà vu at the hands of the Retrievers, falling behind 8-2 after just 2:13 and prompting Chambers to call an early timeout.
“I didn’t say anything [in the timeout],” Chambers said. “I just stared at them. I stared at them because I had warned them, and I had told them what was coming.”
The Terriers’ struggles continued out of the timeout, and UMBC’s lead ballooned to 13 points with 14:14 remaining in the half on freshman guard Jamar Wertz’s trey.
Over the remainder of the half, the Terriers battled back with a newfound offensive rhythm sparked by freshman forward Dom Morris’s jumper from the paint at the 6:42 mark.
The basket marked the first points for the big man after returning from an injury he sustained against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on Dec. 31. He played five minutes in his first game back against Albany and went 0-for-1 from the field before playing 13 minutes against UMBC, where he secured three rebounds and scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting.
The Terriers closed out the half on a 27-15 run and took the lead early in the second frame. They held a slim advantage throughout the second half, and saw their lead expand to nine points with 4:45 to play, but the Retrievers tied the game at 67 with free throws from graduate student forward Justin Fry, and took a lead that they would not relinquish with 24 seconds remaining on a layup by sophomore forward Adrian Satchell.
The Terriers missed two three-point attempts from Partin and Morris in their final possessions and fell by a final score of 71-67.
“I think we were a little bit cocky, and UMBC played harder and took advantage of it,” Chambers said. “They did a great job. We did not do a great job, and it’s partially UMBC’s credit, and it’s partially human nature setting in a little bit. I think sometimes you look at other people’s record, and you think you’re just going to put the uniform on and go out and win. It’s unfortunate. We have a young team. We haven’t shown that we’re very good on the road, and to be the best team we can be, that has got to change. That has got to change fast, or we’re going to be a .500 ball club.”
Chambers couldn’t pinpoint a reason for his team’s sluggishness down the stretch.
“They got to the foul line and they did a nice job and made those free throws down the stretch,” he said. “We couldn’t get the stops, and once we did miss, we couldn’t get the rebound. I can’t tell you [the reason for the lack of urgency]. Just a lethargic game all around.”
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