Captains lead BU to win

When the Boston University men’s basketball team was struggling to make shots last night, it turned to a familiar face to give it a spark.

Junior captain Matt Turner scored 11 straight points down the stretch, leading BU to a 68-61 victory over Harvard University and reminding Terriers fans why he is the most exciting and dangerous player on the team.

For the first time since separating his shoulder against the College of the Holy Cross last season, Turner was able to dominate a game offensively.

‘[Matt] hasn’t played in almost a year so he’s been trying to work himself back into it,’ Coach Dennis Wolff said. ‘But, he’s persevered, and he deserves a lot of credit for that.’

BU (3-2) led Harvard from the 7:50 mark of the first half until a three-pointer by guard Michael Beal gave the Crimson a 44-43 lead with 9:13 remaining. After trading baskets, the Terriers were down by two points when Turner, with the help of captain Billy Collins, took over.

After a driving layup, Turner hit five consecutive jumpers, including one from downtown, in less than three minutes. The last shot gave the Terriers a 60-55 lead that they would not relinquish.

‘Coach kept telling me just to play up to my potential and make plays, and that’s what I did tonight and it really felt good,’ Turner said. ‘That’s the first time I really felt energized and into the game.’

Collins put an exclamation point on Turner’s outburst, sandwiching two free throws around a pair of dunks, both of which got the BU faithful off its feet at Harvard’s Lavietes Pavilion.

On the night, Turner finished with 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-11 from three-point range. Collins recorded his third double-double of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Junior center Ryan Butt made all six of his field goal attempts for 13 points to go along with seven rebounds, as he handled Harvard’s seven-foot center, Brian Sigafoos, on both ends of the court.

Besides Turner, the defensive intensity that the Terriers played with was the difference in the game. BU shot only 37 percent from the field, but limited Harvard to 36 percent and out-rebounded the Crimson, 44-38.

The team’s third captain, point guard Kevin Fitzgerald, led the way defensively, completely shutting down Harvard’s top scorer, guard Patrick Harvey. Harvey was averaging 15 points coming into the contest, but Fitzgerald limited him to only six points on 1-for-8 shooting and five turnovers.

‘Fitzgerald defensively was phenomenal,’ Wolff said. ‘Harvey is a very, very good player and Kevin guarded him the whole time and [held him to] six points and five turnovers.

‘The team played with a lot of passion when it had to.’

The Crimson is an experienced team that starts five seniors, which worried Wolff going into the game. It was Wolff’s veterans, however, who rose to the occasion with the game on the line in the last seven minutes. Collins and Turner scored 17 straight Terrier points, while fellow captain Fitzgerald continued to lock up Harvey.

‘When we play these guys this is a game more about how tough you’re going to be than about strategy because they play very hard and physically,’ Wolff said. ‘You have to match that if you want to win and I thought our guys did that tonight.’

The first half of the game went back and forth and both teams had problems protecting the ball. The Terriers turned the ball over 10 times in the first 20 minutes, but recovered to give it up only three times in the final 20. The Crimson shot only 35 percent in the first half, and were it were not for BU’s turnovers, the Terriers would have had a lead much larger than the three-point margin they entered the locker room with at halftime.

The Terriers now face St. Joseph’s College on Thursday night in Philadelphia. St. Joe’s will provide BU with another opportunity to win a high-profile non-conference game.