Hoopsters saved best performances for last

(The following is part two of a two-part series, reviewing the Boston University men’s basketball team’s 2000-01 season.)

With two of its go-to players on the bench, BU entered February at 9-10 overall and just 5-6 in the conference. Something had to change if BU was to make a run for the championship it had not claimed since 1996-97.

What followed in February was what BU coach Dennis Wolff called “the best basketball BU had played in two years.” The Terriers took five of their last seven games, moving it from flirting with the bottom of the conference to securing a fifth place seed in the playoffs.

After a 74-71 loss to Northeastern at The Roof, a very winnable game in BU’s eyes and its third straight loss, the Terriers seemingly awoke from a slumber and dominated against Towson, 96-59. Sophomore guard Matt Turner had a memorable performance, scoring 36 points, including seven three-pointers that tied a program record, to lead BU to its best win in recent memory. Victories over the University of Hartford, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maine and then 20-5 College of the Holy Cross ensued, and BU was playing on a level unseen earlier in the season.

Turner led the Terriers in scoring over their last seven games (17 points per game), but BU also got notable games from Graham, freshman guard Kevin Fitzgerald and redshirt freshman Jason Grochowalski.

“We played the way we’re capable of playing,” Turner said. “It was not a surprise; it was a show of what we can do.”

BU’s run brought it to a 14-13 record at the conclusion of the regular season as well — its first winning record in three years.

“We had a pretty good finish to the regular season,” Fitzgerald said. “We got a winning record for the program even though we lost a couple of games at the end that we should have won, like against Northeastern and New Hampshire.”

It also gained a first-round bye in the America East tournament at Delaware, a luxury BU had not enjoyed in recent years either. As the fifth seed, BU was pitted against fourth-seed Maine, a team the Terriers had swept (2-0) during the regular season.

Prior to the game, Wolff acknowledged the difficulty of beating a team three times in one season, and he acknowledged the fact that he was without three of his top players. Freshman forward Ryan Butt, who had given BU formidable size under the basket, was also lost to a foot injury after the Terriers’ 89-75 loss at Vermont Feb. 17. Still, no excuses were made. BU was in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, where it had envisioned itself all season.

“In light of the three or four games that we could have won and with Kudlacz not playing for almost the whole season, Collins being out for half of the season and Butt missing the last five or six games, I thought we were in a pretty good position heading in to the playoffs,” Wolff said.

The stage was set. March 4, BU vs. Maine. The two had tipped off at The Roof just six days prior in the final game of the regular season in a physical, back-and-forth battle that saw BU come out on top, 76-74.

Both the Terriers and the Black Bears expected nothing less than a playoff showdown, and that’s just what they got. BU and Maine went neck and neck until Maine pulled away by 10 points, 60-50, with just over two minutes remaining. It wasn’t over by any means, however, as Turner engineered an improbable BU comeback by draining four threes in the final 1:17 of regulation to send it into overtime. The Terriers lost, 87-83, after an equally difficult overtime period, but not due to a lack of effort.

It was perhaps the best way to end a season with a loss; as one observer put it, “It was the best game you’ll ever see anyone lose.”

Wolff agreed, saying, “We finished strong. What I told them after the game was they played as hard as any team in the seven years I’ve been here. It was an extremely well-played game and all [the BU players] were interested in having the season continue.”

“We came together at the end but we just couldn’t put it away,” Turner said. “We executed our game plan and finished up as well as we possibly could have.”

The final count: 14-14 overall, 9-9 in the conference and a whole lot of BU heart left on the floor at the sound of the final buzzer.

“We’ve made some strides back to the type of team we want to be,” Wolff said. “We doubled our win total from last year even with the injuries. We got good contributions from the new guys and valuable experience for them. I know [the players] didn’t want the season to end and now they’re going to work hard in the offseason.”

In essence, BU’s performance during the last leg of the season, and particularly in its final game of the season against Maine, was reminiscent of the Terrier basketball of old: hardworking, tight defense and efficiency on offense, not to mention a growing winning attitude.

“I was proudest of the competitive spirit that was restored — we fought the way we used to at BU,” Wolff said. “We have more confidence at home, and the more people that show up, the better it’s going to get.”

As Wolff and his players probably realize, the 2000-01 season was probably as good as it could have been in light of the injuries and the time it takes for a team to really become a team. Not perfect, but not bad at all, and a marked improvement when the season is held up against the past two.

Still, the Terriers aren’t ready to pat themselves on the back just yet.

“Next season should be good. Everyone will be back, and if we all stay healthy, we should have a good run at it,” Fitzgerald said.

Turner agreed, saying, “Redemption won’t come until we get that conference championship. I’m not satisfied, and I don’t think any of my teammates are.

“We’re coming back to win the regular season championship and the America East championship.”