As the banner got closer and closer to the ceiling, the grin on the face of Boston University men’s basketball Coach Dennis Wolff got broader and brighter. As the game went on, it was obvious that the unveiling of the 2002 America East Championship banner would not be the only reason for Wolff to smile.
A large crowd of 1,258 fans was on hand at ‘The Roof’ at Case Gymnasium Saturday night, and if they were there only to see the addition of 2002 to the conference championship banner, they got a lot more than they paid for.
The Terriers (1-1, 0-0 America East) came out strong and never looked back, blowing out Columbia University, 66-37. Junior forward Ryan Butt and red-shirt junior Matt Turner led the way for the Terriers, each with 12 points.
The Lions (0-2, 0-0 America East) struggled all night to get past the Terrier defense, especially on the perimeter. The BU guards pressured the Columbia ballhandlers from the outset, even showing a full-court press on the first Lion possession. After Columbia coughed the ball up 40 times last Monday night against Rutgers University, Wolff knew his team would have to pressure the Columbia backcourt.
‘I thought we obviously guarded them pretty good,’ Wolff said. ‘And they’re a hard team to guard because of how patient they are. You have to be careful not to get back-cut or fall asleep at the end of the shot clock.’
While Columbia did get a few baskets in the final seconds of the shot clock, the Terriers forced at least three 24-second violations, while pressuring the Lions into 19 turnovers overall.
On the offensive end, BU got off to a rough start, as it seemed a little overanxious and forced shots that weren’t really there. The Terriers jumped to a 10-point lead twice in the first half, and led by nine at the break, but didn’t really get their offense going until the second half.
‘In regard to the defensive end, we were pretty good,’ Wolff said. ‘But in regard to the offensive end, some guys were trying too hard, which has happened before in our first home game. Instead of just playing smoothly and loosely and all that, you’re trying to force things in there that aren’t there, or you’re acting like every shot is way more important than it really is.’
After the game, Wolff said that there wasn’t much to say in the locker room at halftime, only that he told his team to calm down on the offensive end.
Whatever he did say, it worked.
The Terriers exploded in the first six minutes of the second half, breaking the game open with a 12-0 run. Just over three minutes into the half came the highlight reel play of the night, when sophomore guard Chaz Carr went on a fast break with senior Billy Collins. The pair of captains brought down the house and surprisingly large BU student contingent when Carr dribbled just past the foul line, flipped the ball toward the rim off the dribble, and found Collins elevating to throw down the perfect alley-oop pass with one hand.
‘I think that in the first five minutes of the second half, we got out in transition a little bit,’ Wolff said. ‘And we had a little more intensity than we had in the first half, and a lot more energy. In all fairness we have a lot more guys than they had.’
In a game that involved all 14 players on the BU roster, the Terriers did an excellent job of distributing the scoring load. Wolff was quick to begin his rotation of players off the bench, bringing in Turner in the first few minutes. Turner’s 12 points led the BU bench, which tallied 27 points on the night. Carr added four assists and 11 points, tying Turner for the game-high in helpers.
Turner, who played only 17 minutes last week at Stanford University, seemed to be in a much better rhythm on Saturday night, not hesitating to take the open shot, showing off his quick release on numerous occasions, including two beautiful, arching three-pointers in the second half.
‘He’s trying to get back into the whole flow of things,’ Wolff noted. ‘He makes good plays, then not-so-good plays. I think when you miss a whole year, and he’s been out since about this time last year, you really need to just get minutes and get out on the court.’
Along with the fast breaks, five three-pointers and pressure defense, the night was highlighted by BU’s performance on the glass. The Terriers pulled down 34 rebounds to Columbia’s 16 and allowed the Lions just one offensive rebound in each half. Butt led the way for BU on the boards, adding six rebounds to his already-impressive night, which included 12 points, two steals and two assists. Oh, and by the way, the 6’8′ junior can stroke it from the outside, knocking down a wide-open three-pointer in the second half off a feed from a driving Carr.
‘I think we just turned up our intensity a little bit,’ Butt said. ‘Toward the end of the first half, we got a little more relaxed and we just came out a little more determined in the second half.’
The win wipes out bad memories of a 68-47 loss in New York City last season to the Lions. The Terriers were playing their first game after the loss of Matt Turner, and were, according to Wolff, trying to figure out how to handle it.
‘We didn’t approach that game correctly, from my standpoint.’ Wolff said. ‘We were still trying to figure out what we were going to do after Matt got hurt, and they’re a hard team to prepare for if you had never played them before. I took a lot of responsibility when I was talking to the kids in regard to what happened last year.’
After trouncing a team that is predicted to finish second-to-last in the mid-major Ivy League this season, the Terriers will travel tomorrow to battle a different monster in Boston College. The Eagles were chosen to finish second in the Big East Conference East Division, and will be hungry after a loss Saturday to Saint Joseph’s University. Game time at Conte Forum is 7 p.m.
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