Terriers rebound from loss

It was definitely its worst game so far in its young season.

The Boston University men’s basketball team fell 76-60 to Harvard University Tuesday night, and it wasn’t pretty. The Terriers never led and were down by as many as 26 points during the game, mostly a result of a bad combination of BU’s shooting difficulties and a well-prepared Crimson squad.

After blazing to a 3-1 start, the Terriers were slowed by the Crimson in more ways than one. Harvard held BU to its lowest scoring percentage of all its first five games (34.4 percent) and its second-lowest performance from the free-throw line this year (66.7 percent). A tenacious Crimson defense forced the Terriers to cough up a season-high 21 turnovers, as well.

But the most severe blow dealt by the loss is probably not a drop in BU’s season statistics, but rather a huge reality check for the Terriers. A 3-1 record is suddenly 3-2 after a loss to an area rival. And with the Terriers’ America East conference opener coming Saturday against Northeastern University, BU is now questioning itself. “I think we weren’t ready,” said sophomore guard Paul Seymour. “I think we thought we were better than our record and we got a little ahead of ourselves. We underestimated Harvard at first, and by the time we realized we were in for a game, it was too late.”

Indeed, Harvard jumped on BU almost immediately, going up 29-9 with more than 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Terriers did mount an impressive comeback late in the second half, pulling to within seven points, but ‘better late than never’ turned out to be, ‘if we hadn’t gotten ourselves in such a big mess in the first place, we wouldn’t have to come back.’

Tuesday’s loss was full of surprises. The Terriers were surprised by their poor play and surprised by a high-caliber but under-appreciated Crimson team. “The most surprising thing was how hard they played on defense,” Seymour said. “They were very intense and very good on defense. We expected them to take the shots they took [many three-pointers and inside dump-ins], but I don’t think we were ready for their defense.

“We’re very disappointed all-around. We know we’re a better team than we showed [Tuesday] night.”

In all, Harvard exposed some faults, but the loss was not entirely bad. If every defeat has to come with a silver lining, then this one’s was certainly the early return, according to Seymour.

“It was definitely a wake-up call for us. It was good that it happened now, early, instead of sometime in February. Hopefully, this will be the only game we’ll see this year that was like that,” he said.

CALLING ON COLLINS

A new face, of sorts, was on the floor for BU at Harvard Tuesday. Sophomore captain Billy Collins stepped onto the court for the first time after suffering a fracture in his left foot before the season began. Collins, who shares leadership duties with co-captain Stijin Dhondt, transferred from Rutgers University last season, but was forced to sit out due to NCAA Clearinghouse regulations. Thus, Collins is not necessarily new to the Terriers, but his return last night was a welcome addition. The forward has some rust to work out, though, as he went 0-for-7 from the field, had one steal and pulled down four rebounds in 14 minutes of play. Still, as time passes, Collins will undoubtedly become a presence for the Terriers for the rest of the season. “He’s definitely going to be big for us,” Seymour said. “With every passing game, he’s just going to get better and better. He brings a lot of leadership and intensity and he has a great knowledge of the game.”

ODDS AND ENDS

Tuesday’s game against Harvard was the 51st meeting between the Terriers and the Crimson. Harvard leads the all-time series, which started in 1904, 32-19, and the Crimson snapped BU’s seven-game win streak in the series with their win this week. The loss also represented BU coach Dennis Wolff’s first defeat in seven meetings with Harvard… Freshman forward Ryan Butt did not start last night after starting the Terriers’ first four games.