The Boston University men’s basketball team won its fourth game in a row and nudged into a first place tie in the America East with a 68-56 win over the State University of New York at Albany on Saturday at Case Gymnasium.
The Terriers controlled the tempo of play for most of the first half, showing the offensive versatility to handle a half court set, as well as the ability to spot the open man in transition. BU (17-9 overall, 11-3 America East) shot 50 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and went 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Jason Grochowalski’s layup capped a 14-3 BU run midway through the first half, and gave the Terriers a 23-8 lead. Albany (7-18 overall, 4-10 America East) fought back in the last six minutes of the frame to go to the break down by 10 points, 30-20.
“We seemingly looked like we were in control but we weren’t pulling away,” said BU head coach Dennis Wolff.
Trailing by as many as 12 early in the second half, Albany scored seven straight points to cut BU’s lead to four on junior guard Antione Johnson’s jumper with 15:06 left.
On BU’s next position, junior forward Billy Collins — who scored only two points in the first half — made a 3-pointer from the corner, pushing the Terrier lead back to seven.
The lead would grow to 10 on two occasions before Will Brand’s 3-pointer brought the Great Danes to within five, at 46-41.
But again, it was Collins who broke Albany’s back with the second of his two 3-balls in the game, giving BU a 49-41 advantage with just under nine minutes to play.
After a timeout, freshman forward Rashad Bell’s alley-oop slam from Kevin Fitzgerald pushed the BU lead to 11 at 7:21, and the Terriers never looked back, keeping the Great Danes at a double-digit deficit for the remainder of the afternoon.
“It’s tough when you beat yourselves,” said Albany head coach Will Brown. “I thought their pressure was token pressure and you have to be able to take one or two dribbles and reverse the ball and attack. You’re not going to win many games shooting 8-for-24 in the first half and having 10 turnovers.
“I think this is the best defensive team in the league,” Brand said. “They’re hard-nosed, they deny the wings, it’s hard to penetrate and they try to put a body on you no matter where you are on the court.”
It was a total team effort and a solid win for the Terriers, playing without junior guard Paul Seymour who had the flu. Fitzgerald ran the team well at point guard, dishing out nine assists and scoring six points. He only turned the ball over twice in 36 minutes.
“They made us work for every shot and every play,” said freshman guard Chaz Carr. “We had to take our time and be patient.”
Carr scored a team-high 18 points and Bell added 13 for BU.
“I think the kid has had a first-team, all-league type year,” Wolff said of Carr. “He plays with poise beyond a freshman.”
“I just took it as a challenge,” said Carr of being thrust into a leadership role. “[You] just have confidence in yourself and go out there and play. I looked at it as an opportunity.”
The Great Danes missed the presence of forward Karim Ouattara, who sat out while the NCAA looks into a possible rules violation. Albany players learned of the 6-foot, 7-inch senior’s problem in a team meeting on Friday night. The NCAA is investigating whether Ouattara played professionally in France before joining the Albany program.
Rhasheed Peterson stepped in for Ouattara and had a career day in his unusual starting role, breaking out for 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 6-for-8 from 3-point range. Brand was the only other Albany player in double figures, scoring 10 points.
“He looked like the player that I’m sure they thought he was when they recruited him,” Wolff said of Peterson. “We let him have a couple of open looks early, he made them, and that gave him a lot of confidence.”
BU’s victory, coupled with the University of Vermont loss over the weekend, pulled the Terriers into a tie with the Catamounts for the conference lead. Each team is 11-3 record with two games left to play.
“I think BU is a really good basketball team and they are the favorite to win the America East Tournament because they can play at any tempo,” Brown said. “They can score 90 or score 40 and still win games.”
“If someone had told me before the season that we’d be where we are right now and [junior guard Matt] Turner wouldn’t play at all, I would have taken it in a heartbeat,” Wolff said.
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