Luckily for the Boston University men’s basketball team, steaks come in cycles. After starting the season 0-5 facing the seventh-toughest schedule in the nation, the Terriers have now won their third straight with a 58-55 triumph over conference rival University of Maine on Saturday.
But it wasn’t easy.
BU (3-5, 2-0 America East) endured an eight-hour bus ride through slush, snow, thunder and lightning on Friday just to get to Orono. Once they finally got settled there, the Terriers had to actually play the game, facing a stingy 2-6 Maine team (0-2) that came ready to play.
“I think, getting three wins this week after starting with such a tough schedule, coming all the way up here, in these travel conditions … really says a lot about our team,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff.
The Terriers’ tiring travel day and busy week might have had something to do with their slow start. BU watched the Black Bears jump out to an early 7-0 lead that translated into a 31-25 halftime advantage.
BU trailed by as many as nine in the second half, but a 10-0 run in a little over three minutes put the Terriers up by one.
Corey Hassan – as he’s done throughout this three-game streak – got things started for the Terriers. Hassan’s jumper at 8:18 started the big run. The freshman marksman also hit two free throws sandwiched between two Kevin Gardner layups.
Gardner’s layup with 5:14 remaining finished the run and put the Terriers up one, 49-48.
A basket by Maine’s Chris Bruff briefly gave the Black Bears back the lead, until a Brian Macon jumper 40 seconds later put the Terriers in front for good.
Macon, Hassan, Ben Coblyn and Shaun Wynn all hit their free throws to secure the win.
Hassan finished with 16 points from another strong shooting performance. The freshman knocked down 50 percent of his shots, including 3-of-6 from downtown.
He tied for the team lead in scoring along with Gardner, whose 16 points came on mostly layups in a 7-for-15 shooting effort.
But besides Hassan and Gardner, the Terriers did not shoot well – especially compared to their two recent performances.
BU shot at a 36 percent clip Saturday. In wins over Harvard University and the University of New Hampshire, the Terriers shot a combined 52 percent.
But they did continue to connect from international waters, hitting at a 42.9 percent clip behind Hassan and 1-of-2 efforts from Bryan Geffen and Wynn.
Wynn rebounded nicely from his zero-point performance last Thursday against UNH. The senior co-captain netted nine points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. But as usual, it wasn’t Wynn’s offensive game that Wolff was talking about afterwards – it was the senior’s work in the defensive end.
“Shaun Wynn played a great game defensively,” said Wolff. “He had a great game, especially in the second half.”
Going solely by the numbers, most of the Terriers seemed to play better defensively in the second half. BU held Maine to 38.9 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc, far better than their first half stats of 42.3 and 57.1, respectively.
BU will need a solid effort in both halves tonight when they venture back into non-conference play, squaring off against Atlantic 10 rival UMass-Amherst.
UMass (2-3) edged the Terriers by a bucket last season, 67-65.
The game will conclude a grueling stretch for the Terriers, having played four games in seven days, and will be the last game of the semester, sending the Scarlet and White home for the holidays fresh off a four-game winning streak or with thoughts of how to avoid falling back into another type of streak in their minds.