Fueled by historic individual and team performances, Boston University toppled the Colgate Raiders for an impressive 85-58 victory at Case Gym on Monday, in BU’s fifth straight win.
The Terriers (13-15, 8-7 Patriot League) hit the ground running as sophomore guard Azmar Abdullah sank two 3-pointers on the first two possessions of the game. He rode that momentum for the full 40 minutes, ending the game a perfect 8-8, only shooting from beyond the arc.
Abdullah’s perfect shooting display tied Colorado State’s Josh Pascarelli for the most made 3s without a miss in a game by a Division I player this season.
“That dude was 8-for-8, that’s insane,” BU head coach Joe Jones said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that.”
Matching pace with Abdullah, BU put up its best 3-point shooting night of the season. The Terriers were lights-out from deep, tying the nine-year-old school record for most made 3s in a game at 18 and leaving the Raiders (16-12, 10-5 PL) scrambling for answers.
“Tonight they were locked in for 40 minutes, and, you know, school-record 18 3’s,” Jones said. “You’re not losing that game.”
Abdullah, who said he “prides himself” on his defense, showed up on the other side of the ball that night.
“When I felt them first two go down, I knew this was about to be my night,” Abdullah said.
Abdullah’s defensive effort was contagious. The Terriers blocked five shots and held Colgate to 58 points. The Raiders shot a mere 8-27 in the first half, and finished the game 20-58 from the field.
Freshman forward Sam Hughes added another solid performance to his noteworthy freshman campaign, finishing the game with 16 points and shooting 5-7 from deep. Like Abdullah, Hughes credits his growth to his defense.
“If you just focus on defense first, everything kind of just falls into place,” the Needham native said.
After a sluggish defensive start to the season, BU has turned that aspect of its game around.
“We’ve really tried to change our philosophy midway through here as we have been able to string along some wins,” Jones said. “It’s really been the defense that’s been the biggest difference.”
The finishing touch of the Terriers’ historic performance was their ball security. They had just seven turnovers and tallied an impressive 22 assists. Freshman guard Chance Gladden led the team with seven assists of his own — and when taken out of the game, shared a moment with Jones.
“His coach was in the stands tonight, and his coach is a legendary coach. He coached a ton of kids that played high-major basketball,” Jones said. “So when we recruited Chance, [his coach] said to me, he goes, ‘I think he’s the best player [I’ve] ever had.’”
The “legendary coach” Jones referenced was Kevin Billerman, who coached Ravencroft High School up until this season. During his tenure, Billerman coached athletes that went on to play basketball at schools like Duke, Louisville and North Carolina..
“I don’t know if he’s better than all these guys, I just know he’s a terrific player,” Jones said. “And so I told him that, I go, ‘man, your coach told me that, and, you know, you’ve proven that.’”
The Terriers have the unfortunate privilege of boasting the most missed games due to injury in the nation this year — a whopping 157. However, their injury luck might finally be turning around.
In regards to graduate student forward Malcolm Chimezie — who has been sidelined due to injury since Jan. 10 — Jones said he is “hoping to get him back at some point.”
It was a significant night for Jones as well, as he secured his 247th win to tie Dennis Wolff for most wins as a BU head coach.
Despite his accomplishment, Jones said he remains focused on one thing: winning.
“You win a championship, whether it’s a regular season or a conference tournament championship, that’s a record you want,” he said. “If we want to call that a record or not, that’s the one I play for.”
The Terriers travel to Bethlehem, P.A. on Feb. 22 to face Lehigh in the third-to-last game of the regular season.