WEST HARTFORD, Conn. &- Corey Lowe’s emphatic last-second bounce sent the ball soaring toward the ceiling of Chase Family Arena. When it came down, bedlam had ensued. And for good reason.
The Boston University men’s basketball team is one win away from fulfilling its season-long dream &- a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Lowe and the rest of his teammates assured themselves of that opportunity Sunday night, when they pulled off a gutsy 70-63 upset victory over top-seeded Stony Brook University in the semifinal round of the America East Tournament.
“It was an amazing game, a grind-it-out battle with two really great teams going at it,” said BU coach Patrick Chambers, whose squad will oppose the second-seeded University of Vermont on Saturday at Patrick Gymnasium in a noon game televised by ESPN2.
“I have so much respect for the Stony Brook program. Today, they brought out the best in us.”
Senior guard Lowe dropped 24 points to lead four double-digit scorers for the fourth-seeded Terriers (19-12), whose eighth win in nine contests propelled them to BU’s America East-record 14th conference championship game, its first since 2003.
“This is one of my greatest moments, the way I feel right now,” said Lowe, the program’s all-time leader in minutes played and No. 3 career scorer. “I’m just so happy for myself, the other eight seniors, the underclassmen, and Coach [Chambers] for helping us get over the hump in his first year.
“I’m kind of speechless right now. I’m just super happy.”
Chambers couldn’t have been prouder of his co-captain, who piled up 50 points on 17-for-28 shooting in BU’s tournament victories against the fifth-seeded University of Hartford and Stony Brook.
“Corey and I have developed a special relationship,” Chambers said. “He’s an amazing kid and an amazing player who just wants to win. He played with a lot of courage out there. That’s what’s makes him so good.
“He wanted to do whatever he could to get us to this championship game. I think you saw that today.”
Senior guard Muhammad El-Amin had 20 points to pace the Seawolves (22-9), who erased a 13-point halftime deficit but could not protect a 53-48 advantage with 6:42 left in regulation.
El-Amin wasted no time showing why the majority of the league’s head coaches selected him as the 2009-10 America East Player of the Year, scoring nine of the game’s first 12 points on a trio of trifectas.
BU closed out an otherwise competitive opening session with a 15-3 run that produced its 37-24 lead at the intermission. Lowe capped the Terriers’ first-half scoring and his own 16-point period in eye-popping fashion, drilling a right-wing trey a healthy 30 feet from the basket.
Then came Stony Brook. In a hurry.
Coach Steve Pikiell’s regular-season champions unleashed an all-out assault on BU’s seemingly comfortable advantage coming out of the break, as they reeled off a 13-0 spurt to tie the game at 37.
“We knew they were going to come after us,” BU junior forward John Holland said. “We just needed to prepare ourselves mentally and keep the right attitude when they did come back. It was a tremendous job by everybody on our team to stay together and not fall apart, which we very easily could have.”
The Seawolves held their 53-48 edge at 6:42 when the Terriers drew inspiration from the unlikeliest of events: a technical foul on Chambers — his second of the season — for barking at an official.
“That was not my intention, although it may look like that now,” Chambers said of sparking a momentum shift. “That was the dumbest technical foul a coach can get. As a first-year head coach, I need to control my emotions a little better. I told my players, “In spite of me, you still played hard and had a great attitude.'”
From that moment on, BU would not be denied.
“It was a make-or-break situation,” Lowe said. “Coach is real passionate, and we wanted to play that same way. [The technical] lit a fire under us. We looked at each other and said, “Hey, we’ve got to step up now and make this comeback, or our season’s going to be over.'”
Sophomore center Jeff Pelage’s layup with 5:54 remaining ignited a game-clinching 13-3 run for the Terriers, whose composure down the stretch set them apart from the sloppy Seawolves (19 turnovers).
With one game standing in his team’s way of a berth to the Big Dance, Chambers believes BU’s best basketball is yet to come.
“All year I’ve used the analogy of the stonecutter tapping at the stone. One day, it’s going to break,” Chambers said. “This team is continuing to get better. We still have room for growth, which is scary.
“I don’t know if this team knows how good they can be. I’m going to try to get it out of them this week, and bring that into Saturday.”
Game notes: The Terriers snapped a three-game losing streak against the Seawolves. … Chambers represents the third rookie bench boss to reach the America East Tournament final. … BU shot 41 percent from the field (25-for-61) and 32 percent beyond the 3-point arc (8-for-25). … Stony Brook converted 10-of-21 free throws. … El-Amin committed a game-high eight turnovers.