Three wins from the dance floor

They’re the spoiled ones.

Well, spoiled is probably the wrong word because it implies they haven’t had to work for what they’ve earned.

Sophomores Rashad Bell and Chaz Carr have seen a lot of good times in their two years on the men’s basketball team. It’s hardly a coincidence.

Going into this weekend’s America East tournament at Walter Brown Arena, Bell and Carr are going to be the two most important components of the Terriers’ quest to repeat as conference champions.

BU’s defense of the title begins on Sunday at 12 p.m. against the University of New Hampshire, a team the Terriers defeated twice during the regular season.

Bell, who began the year coming off the bench, has emerged as the Terriers’ best player and a viable candidate for Player of the Year. He has come a long way from the player who didn’t make a field goal and was called for a critical traveling violation in the team’s opening game against Stanford.

While the Queens native may have started slow, he certainly went out with a bang, scoring a career-high 26 points against Northeastern University in BU’s 76-65 regular season finale victory.

‘Rashad Bell should be the Player of the Year in the conference,’ said BU coach Dennis Wolff. ‘When you look at whose team won, his numbers in the conference, and on a team with other good players [he deserves it].

‘I don’t think he cares about that though. His goal is to be in the NCAA Tournament.’

Carr, who last year, as a freshman, led the Terriers’ title run, agreed that his roommate has become the best player in the conference, due to his hard work. One season ago, it was Carr who, with 15 points, six assists and no turnovers, keyed a 66-40 rout of the University of Maine, which took the Terriers into the NCAAs.

This season, Carr has struggled with his game and confidence, and has not had the breakout season many expected. He was placed on the pre-season All-Conference team, although it looks like Bell will take his place there. And when Bell was dominating against Northeastern, Carr also played one of his best games, giving the Terriers hope he can find his game once again.

‘The last 10 minutes of that game not only shooting, but he had a couple good assists, and played good defense was probably the best 10 minutes he’s played in a long time,’ Wolff said. ‘It would be a nice thing if he can get his game back to where we know it can get to.’

‘That was definitely a confidence builder for me,’ Carr said. ‘I felt confident out there and was able to get in a groove.’

Both players enter the tournament on high personal notes, but also with the knowledge and experience gained from going through the same process last year.

‘I know what to expect going into the playoffs,’ Bell said. ‘We’re going to have to bring it on Sunday against New Hampshire or we’re going to lose and that’ll be it.’

And Bell didn’t mince words about how losing would feel, despite the regular season title and personal accolades.

‘It’ll be a waste,’ he said. ‘All the hard work in the summer, the hard practices, the tough schedule, it’ll be a waste if we don’t get to the tournament.’

Carr, on the other hand, is refusing to even think about the possibility of tripping up in the tournament.

‘All I’ve got in my head right now is winning,’ he said.

First up for the Terriers are the Wildcats of UNH (5-22, 3-13 America East), who finished in last place in the conference. In the first meeting, BU was dominant, winning 94-64 in Durham, N.H. Junior guard Matt Turner had one of his best games of the season, leading the way with 16 points, while junior forward Ryan Butt chipped in with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

When the teams played at ‘The Roof,’ New Hampshire kept it close, losing 76-62. The Wildcats led for much of the first half before being worn out by the deeper and more talented Terriers. Junior forward Jason Grochowalski had his most productive game of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

‘We shut down their perimeter players and gave no help at all [down low],’ Wolff said. ‘We have to find a happy medium.’

‘We just have to play hard defense, since we let their big man get off on us last time,’ Bell said. ‘We’re not going to let that happen again.’

The reserved Carr and the boisterous Bell might be very different off the court, but the roommates share more than an address.

Together, they share credit for helping bring the Terriers to the top of the conference, and now they share a lot of the responsibility for keeping them there.