Junior forward Dom Morris led the team in scoring with 11 points on the game.
After a first-half 14–0 run was executed by the University of Stony Brook, the Boston University men’s basketball team was unable to recover its lost lead and endured a 75–48 loss.
The Terriers (8–10, 2–3 America East) started league play on a bad note after losing by eight against the University of Maine and then by three against the University of Hartford.
Those two losses left the Terriers hungry going into their game against the University of Vermont on Jan. 8, where they unleashed on the Catamounts (10–6, 3–1 America East) with a 41-point second half, which led them to a 63–53 victory.
BU hosted Binghamton University at Case Gym on Saturday and easily defeated the Bearcats (2–15, 0–4 America East), 83–59.
Tuesday night, the Terriers traveled to Long Island, N.Y. to take on the America East’s top team, SBU (13–4, 4–0 America East). It was one of the weakest displays by the Terriers all season, as they were defeated by 27 points.
“Stony Brook had a great game plan,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “They really guarded us well.”
At the beginning of the game, it seemed as if the Terriers were going to be locked in a battle all night long.
Early on, freshman guard Maurice Watson Jr. was taken out of the game after picking up two personal fouls.
“Any time we lose one of our guys like [Watson], it slows us up,” Jones said.
BU started off the game by with an 11–4 run in the first six minutes.
Shortly after the run by the Terriers, the Seawolves went on a run of their own in a matter of about five minutes, scoring 14 unanswered points and taking an 18–11 lead midway through the first half.
BU was able to close the gap created by Stony Brook and hung around with the Seawolves until the final five minutes of the first.
In those last five minutes, Stony Brook went on a 17–5 run fueled by easy shot opportunities and forced turnovers. SBU closed out the first half leading the Terriers, 39–25.
The Terriers continued to struggle in the second half. In the first nine minutes, the Seawolves continued their dominance from the first frame and went on a 15–6 run, extending their lead and putting BU away early on.
According to Jones, BU’s problem stemmed from its inability to make shots. Whereas Stony Brook converted on easy opportunities, BU brought the ball down the court and missed shots.
The process continued throughout the second half. For more than 13 minutes of game time, the Terriers were held without a field goal.
“The fact that we weren’t able to score the ball the way we were accustomed to, it really impacted our defense, which made it easier for them to score,” Jones said. “We just got frustrated when we couldn’t make shots.”
Unfortunately for BU, the 23-point deficit it faced at that point was too much to overcome.
Jones switched to a full-court press in an attempt to limit the scoring by Stony Brook, but the Seawolves easily combated the strategy by moving the ball up the court with greater haste. With fewer BU players defending them, Stony Brook was able to continue to score easily. Guard Dave Coley led Stony Brook’s offense with 21 points.
The team was also successful on the defensive end, limiting BU’s top scorer, junior guard DJ Irving, to six points — well below his season average of nearly 15 points per game.
Watson, the team leader in assists, also was not a major factor in the outcome of the game due to foul trouble.
Despite the poor performance, Junior forward Dom Morris was the lone bright spot. He led all BU players with 11 points. He was the only Terrier to score in double digits.
The Terriers look to bounce back this weekend as they travel to Durham, N.H., to take on the University of New Hampshire Saturday at 4 p.m.
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