While the rest of the Boston University campus was enjoying its Thanksgiving break, the Terriers men’s basketball team stayed in the area, losing to Boston College, 80-61, and defeating Dartmouth College, 65-53, in two road games.
The Eagles’ starting backcourt, Troy Bell and Ryan Sidney, dominated the BC game, combining for 46 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and only three turnovers.
The pair put the game away by sparking a 21-4 run early in the second half after the Terriers (2-2) cut the Eagles’ lead to three points following a Billy Collins three-pointer. Bell and Sidney then scored 19 of the team’s next 21 points during a 21-4 Eagle run that put the Terriers away. After that run, BU would get no closer than 15 points.
On the other hand, the Terriers’ starting guards were limited to eight points and nine assists, and had trouble getting the team into its offense.
‘I was very, very disappointed in our guard play,’ said BU Coach Dennis Wolff. ‘The decisions we made, the composure we didn’t show, we were like a record on a bad speed the whole night.
‘Obviously, Bell and Sidney had a lot to do with that, but I’m just disappointed we weren’t able to stay with what we wanted to accomplish a little bit better.’
The Terriers were able to keep the game close for the first 23 minutes thanks to the play of forwards Collins, who initially committed verbally to BC, and Jason Grochowalski. Collins tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th career double-double. Grochowalski added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
‘Collins, [junior forward Ryan] Butt, and Grochowalski all played very hard,’ Wolff said. ‘We just weren’t able to get Ryan the ball with all the plays we were making on the perimeter.’
But the story of the game was the play of Bell and Sidney.
With the Eagles trailing by one point early in the contest, Bell personally went on a 9-0 run in just 57 seconds. The senior guard hit back-to-back threes and then completed a conventional three-point play, which put the Eagles up. His first three of the run gave BC the lead for good in the game.
‘They’ve got some great guards that can score in a hurry,’ Collins said. ‘Bell is a great player, that’s why he’s going to be making some money next year playing [in the NBA].’
After trailing, 37-22, the Terriers went on a 9-0 run to close the first half down only six points. Collins’ three-pointer cut the lead down to three, but BC stepped up its defensive pressure and started hitting from downtown.
‘We started taking quick shots and getting out of our offense,’ Collins said. ‘Their pressure is what caused us to take those shots, though.
‘They were holding us to one shot and coming down and making some big shots.’
BC came into the game with extra fire after losing to St. Joseph’s, 85-58, in its season opener.
‘I knew coming out of the locker room this was going to be different,’ BC Coach Al Skinner said. ‘This is an indication of our potential and how we can perform.’
Unlike St. Joe’s, the Terriers were unable to set up their offense and allowed the Eagles guards to control the game.
‘St. Joe’s exchanged the ball four or five time and reversed it,’ Wolff said. ‘We kept the ball on one side of the floor and got sped up and just took bad shot after bad shot.’
Inside, the Eagles were led by Uka Agbai and Craig Smith, each of whom finished with 11 points. Agbai also grabbed five rebounds, while Smith added eight boards and three blocked shots.
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Following Tuesday’s loss, however, the Terriers were able to come back with an impressive 12-point win over the Dartmouth Big Green on Saturday.
Grochowalski, coming off his best outing of the year against BC, played even better, scoring a game-high 19 points.
Similar to Bell’s performance on Tuesday, Grochowalski took over during a second-half run in which the Terriers turned a one-point deficit into a 15-point lead. The junior forward scored 10 of the team’s points during a 16-0 run which put the game out of reach for the Big Green.
The run started after Dartmouth forward Greg Friel hit a three-pointer to put the Big Green ahead, 37-36. Dartmouth then was held scoreless for 9:18 and by the time it finally put another point on the board, the score was 52-37.
Junior guard Matt Turner also had his highest-scoring game of the season, with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Collins was the other Terrier in double digits, with 11 points and eight rebounds.
As it has been in the team’s two wins, defense was the story for the Terriers against the Big Green. After limiting Columbia University to only 37 points, BU limited Dartmouth to only 28 percent from the field.
The Terriers hope to continue their successful trip through the Ivy League when they travel to Harvard University on Tuesday.
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