Overshadowed by Holland becoming only the second Terrier in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points in BU’s statement win over the conference-leading University of Maine on Tuesday was the play of freshman D.J. Irving and junior transfer Matt Griffin.
The backcourt pair combined for 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a scorching 7-of-8 mark from 3-point range, in the Terriers’ 88-78 victory against the Black Bears.
The six-foot Irving tied a season high with 16 points and added an assist. The five-foot-ten Griffin posted 11 points and contributed three assists, one of which came off the play where Holland knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer from the right wing to reach the 2,000-point plateau at the 7:55 mark of the second half.
On Tuesday, Irving and Griffin didn’t commit a single turnover between them in 27 and 20 minutes of playing time, respectively. On the season, both boast a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio through 24 games.
BU coach Patrick Chambers was asked to what he attributed the solid performances from his two point guards in recent weeks.
“We put them in better situations,” Chambers said. “We changed our offense a little bit. Teams are playing off D.J. now. He’s worked on his jump shot the last few days – not like we never told him not to shoot. We want him to shoot. We put Matt in better situations where we know he’s going to get a shot, instead of just leaving him on the weak side and hoping that we see him wide open on the weak side.”
Defense, rebounding cause for concern
As a coach, Chambers isn’t happy.
Giving up 78 points to the Black Bears – the America East conference’s No. 1 scoring offense – may seem harmless, but after spending two days in practice working on defending and rebounding leading up to BU’s matchup with Maine, Chambers has the right to be frustrated.
The Black Bears manhandled the Terriers on the glass throughout the contest, outrebounding them 40-29. Maine also had an overwhelming advantage in offensive boards, snagging a total of 15 compared to BU’s seven. The Black Bears scored 18 second-chance points, while the Terriers only tallied nine points on those extra possessions.
The leading candidate for AE Player of the Year, forward Troy Barnies abused BU all night long, finishing with a game-high 26 points and corralling 10 boards, five of which came on both the offensive and defensive ends.
“That kid Barnies is terrific,” Chambers said. “He’s a really good player. I told him, ‘You are terrific.’ I watched a lot of tape on him. There’s a guy who’s paid his dues, who worked extremely hard. He’s a senior, he’s their leader and he goes out and gets 26 and 10.”
BU ranks third in the conference with a 65.7 points-per-game average but is allowing an average of 67.2 ppg to its opponents – good for seventh among all nine AE teams. Through 24 contests, the Terriers have grabbed 860 rebounds, but their opponents have collected 893.
With six conference games remaining, Chambers’ squad needs to improve vastly in those two areas.
“We have to learn how to defend and rebound with freshmen and some of these transfers on the floor,” Chambers said. “We have to get better in that regard.”
Jake who?
On Monday, Chambers announced that junior forward and tri-captain Jake O’Brien will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 campaign with a foot injury.
But BU got an array of contributions from several players Tuesday night, as five Terriers scored in double figures and stepped up in O’Brien’s absence. Holland had 24 points, freshman forward Dom Morris netted 12, junior guard Darryl Partin recorded 17, Irving notched 16 and Griffin poured in 11.
The last time BU had five scorers in double-digits was back on Dec. 9 in an 84-81 loss to La Salle University at Agganis Arena.
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