Basketball, Sports

Men’s basketball hosts Holy Cross in regular season finale

MBB_SarahSilbiger
Sophomore guard Eric Fanning is part of a “double-edged sword” offense for BU that also contains sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson.  PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

After clinching a first-round bye in Patriot League tournament with a win Wednesday night over the United States Military Academy, the BU men’s basketball team will look to carry momentum into its season finale on Saturday against the College of Holy Cross.

The Terriers (13-15, 9-8) never trailed at Agganis Arena in their 63-57 victory over the visiting Black Knights (15-13, 6-11).

BU will have the opportunity to clinch a home game in the second round of the Patriot League tournament with a win Saturday against Holy Cross (12-15, 7-10) at Agganis Arena. The Terriers are seeking their seventh consecutive season with 10 conference wins and second in a row since joining the Patriot League at the start of the 2013-14 season.

The balanced scoring attack from the Terriers has helped their offense down the stretch. Junior forward Justin Alston has seen drastic improvement this season as he finished with a career-high 18 points on Wednesday night.

“He [Alston] played hard, he got a couple of blocks and played at the rim and played like an All-League player,” said BU coach Joe Jones.

On a more reliable basis, sophomore guards Cedric Hankerson and Eric Fanning have led the team in scoring throughout much of the season, as both are ranked in the top 12 in points per game in the Patriot League.

“Those guys are scorers, and they have done a nice job,” Jones said. “They are just a threat to score in different ways. They are like double-edged swords offensively.”

Fanning and Hankerson provide mismatches for most teams as their unique athletic ability combined with an ability to hit the 3-ball make them tough covers for almost anyone in the league. As a result, Hankerson and Fanning rank first and second, respectively, in the conference for free throws attempted.

These two dynamic sophomores will play a pivotal part of the Terrier game plan Saturday as Holy Cross ranks sixth in team defense and ninth in 3-point defense. As the fourth ranked scoring attack in the Patriot League, the Terriers will look to exploit mismatches on the outside.

Despite Crusader struggles defending the ball out on the perimeter, Holy Cross does a solid job in the paint, as it leads the Patriot League in blocks and steals per game.

Holy Cross struggles away from its home at the Hart Center as the team is 2-11 on the road, with only one conference road win. However, the Crusaders boast some impressive conference wins this season including victories against Bucknell University, Colgate University and Lehigh University, the top three teams in the Patriot League standings.

Senior Malcolm Miller leads the way for the Crusaders, starting all 27 games for Holy Cross while leading the team in points, blocks, steals and minutes played. The 6-foot-7 forward has been hot as of late, leading the Crusaders in points in five of the last nine games.

“He is such a good player,” Jones said about Miller. “We are going to try to make things hard for him.”

Junior forward Nathan Dieudonne will likely take on most of the responsibility of guarding Miller. The athletic big man ranks second in conference rebounding with 7.5 per game.

Holy Cross makes their opponents work in the half-court set, as they rank first in turnover margin at  3.19 per game. Jones said reducing turnovers and playing team defense are areas of concern for the Terriers, and their discipline will be tested heavily on Saturday.

“Taking care of the basketball will be huge,” Jones said. “That is the one area that we allow other teams to make it close.”

The last time the two teams met Dec. 31, 2014, BU was able to sneak by Holy Cross with a 75-72 overtime victory, despite committing 20 turnovers to the Crusader’s two.

“If we are going to turn the ball over, that is the recipe for disaster against this team,” Jones said. “We have to try and do some different stuff to make it easier for the guys to take care of the ball … The big thing is that we have to limit our turnovers, and we got to make them take contested jump shots and keep them out of the paint.”

More Articles

Comments are closed.