The Boston University men’s basketball team entered the winter recess with a 5-4 record and having won of three of its previous four games. Almost a month later, the Terriers have doubled their win total and solidified themselves as contenders for the America East Conference title.
Three days before Christmas, BU traveled south for a matchup with Providence College at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center before a crowd of 6,243. A win against a non-conference opponent like Providence (7-4) would help to prove that BU’s pre-season selection to win the America East was not a fluke.
BU got off to a fast start, shooting 57 percent from the field in the first half. The Terriers led 37-30 at the break, but a second half rally by the Friars saw that lead dwindle until the score was tied at 44 with 12:44 to play. After a pair of Providence free throws made it 65-62 with 1:16 to go, sophomore guard Paul Seymour missed two three-pointers that would have tied the game. BU fouled on the next possession, and Providence made its free throws to win, 67-62.
Junior forward Billy Collins and sophomore forward Ryan Butt led the Terriers with 12 points apiece. Freshman guard Chaz Carr played 38 of the game’s 40 minutes and added 10 points and four assists.
The Oneida Bingo and Casino Classic in Wisconsin was next for BU, and the Terriers’ performance was worth the trip to the Midwest. In a thrilling 79-75 overtime win, BU beat the host school, the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, and moved into the tournament final against the University of California at Irvine.
Despite shooting 44 percent in the second half and making 22 of 24 free throws for the game, BU could not recover from a 34-27 halftime deficit, falling to UC-Irvine, 77-71. Collins led the Terriers with 17 points, and Butt gobbled up 11 rebounds in the loss.
With the conference schedule upon it, BU entered 2002 at 6-6 with the University of New Hampshire first on the America East slate for the new year. The Wildcats played well despite their 1-9 (0-1 America East) record, staying in the game by hitting 18 three-pointers. In the end, though, BU proved too strong, prevailing 70-65.
The University of Vermont invaded The Roof three days later, and BU had the daunting task of knocking off a team on a seven-game winning streak. The Catamounts, 9-3 (2-0 America East), had unexpectedly moved to the forefront of the conference and entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the country, setting the scene for an America East showdown.
Shooting 15 for 30 from the floor as a team, a balanced Catamounts attack gave Vermont a 46-39 halftime lead. A second half surge by the Terriers brought them within four, but free throws down the stretch proved to be the difference, as Vermont won, 74-65. The Catamounts extended their winning streak to eight, their longest such streak in more than 25 years. Collins made a career-high eight field goals, scoring 21 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. Carr scored a game-high 22 points in the loss, giving the Terriers two 20-point scorers in a game for the second time this season.
With its record back to .500 at 7-7, BU went on the road to take on the University of Hartford (4-11, 2-0 America East). The Terriers jumped out to an early 19-8 advantage, but the Hawks countered with a 20-8 run over the next nine minutes to take a 28-27 lead.
But BU jumped out to a lead early in the second half, and after a technical foul on Hartford head coach Larry Harrison and Seymour’s subsequent free throw, the Terriers took a 47-36 edge midway through the frame. The lead grew to 16 with just over three minutes to play, sending BU to its eighth victory of the season, 70-56.
The Terriers welcomed the State University of New York at Binghamton to Case Gym this past Thursday for the first America East Conference meeting between the two schools. Binghamton (5-9, 2-2 America East) only recently advanced its basketball program to the Division I level, and has had a tough time adjusting to the rigors of tougher competition.
The Terriers used a 2-3 zone defense to stifle Binghamton’s offense throughout the first half. The Bearcats made only 21 percent of their field goals in the first frame, shooting a horrendous 4-19 from the field. BU held a commanding 29-17 lead at the break.
The second half played out much the same as the first. The Terriers opened up a 20-point cushion at 17:28 when Carr hit a three-pointer from the top of the circle.
The 62-50 final score was not indicative of the one-sided affair. Twelve Terriers played in the contest, each with more than three minutes on the floor. Redshirt sophomore Jason Grochowalski and Butt paced BU with 13 points apiece, and freshman forward Rashad Bell and Collins added seven rebounds apiece.
The Terriers stood at 4-3 during break, and 9-7 overall (3-1 America East) going into Saturday’s home game against SUNY-Stony Brook. BU took control early, jumping out to an 11-1 advantage three minutes into the game. The Seawolves (2-14, 1-4 America East) stayed within striking distance for most of the first half, cutting the lead to 33-26 with 3:30 to play. Paced by Bell’s 12 first-half points, BU went on a 13-3 run to end the half with a 46-29 lead.
Stony Brook closed the lead to 13 at 18:52 of the second half, but that was as close as the Seawolves would come. After holding a 70-40 edge with 8:08 remaining, the Terrier lead eventually grew to 90-54.
“I thought we played with a lot of intensity,” said BU head coach Dennis Wolff. “We did what we had to do. They’ve struggled handling the ball, so if we got after them, we could take them out of any half-court offense. We played well and they struggled, so I think that contributed to the score.”
The 90 points is an offensive high for the Terriers this season. BU has not scored 100 points in a game since 1994. Bell also had a break-out game for the Terriers. His 21 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes more than tripled his previous career-high for points. He also bested his career-high for rebounds by one.
“He played well all the way around,” Wolff said. “These last two games have been his two best games. He is a talented kid and he has to have a little more faith in his jump shot. He’s a good shooter.”
BU finished 5-3 on the break and riding a three-game winning streak. The Terriers are 10-7 overall (4-1 America East), and second in the conference standings behind Vermont (12-3, 5-0 America East).
“I think what the team has done since the loss to Vermont [74-65 on Jan.5] is shown a lot of character,” Wolff said. “Obviously, we would have liked to have had that game, but we didn’t get it, and we’ve won three straight since then. This is a long season. That loss to Vermont — we can’t do anything about it. All we can worry about is the next game.”
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