ALBANY, N.Y. ‘- It was the best performance by a point guard the Boston University men’s basketball team has seen this season.
And Tyler Morris wasn’t even on the court. Heck, Morris wasn’t even at SEFCU Arena Thursday night for BU’s America East opener against the University at Albany. But while the junior co-captain was not with the team ‘- instead beginning the healing process on his torn anterior cruciate ligament that will sideline him for the rest of the season ‘- senior Marques Johnson did all he could to mend the Terriers’ seemingly broken season.’
It wasn’t just Johnson’s seven assists, zero turnovers, career-high seven points or eight rebounds that made the New Jersey native effective (albeit in a 62-61 loss), it was his steady ball handling and confidence to step up in big moments that could make him a difference maker as conference play commences.’ ‘
‘I think because of our situation I had to come out there and play hard, and I was ready for it all week preparing for it,’ Johnson said.
With roughly four minutes to go in the game, BU clung to a one-point lead. Its ensuing possession was somewhat frantic after Johnson brought the ball down the court. He passed it off to sophomore forward John Holland (25 points, 2 steals), who dished to freshman forward Jake O’Brien (5 points, 3 rebounds) in the corner. As the defense collapsed on O’Brien, he passed the ball back to Holland, who had been taking and making clutch shots all night. Holland, however, couldn’t find space as the shot clock ticked away. He fed the ball to Johnson, who coolly knocked down an 18-footer to put the Terriers up by three.
‘Johnson hurt us at the end of the shot clock a couple times with [freshman guard] Anthony [Raffa] guarding him,’ Albany coach Will Brown said.
Johnson’s presence could be felt the entire length of the court. With 1:37 to go, the 5-foot-11 speedster (who is realistically 5-foot-8) came up huge for BU. Johnson nabbed the ball from UA sophomore guard Tim Ambrose (19 points, 11 rebounds) and broke out on the fast break. With senior Matt Wolff (9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) ahead of him, Johnson tossed a pass over the forward’s head that lead to an easy layup and a 60-57 BU lead.’
As well as Johnson played, he wasn’t able to lead the Terriers to victory. A mismanaged final possession, resulting in a Wolff miss, left BU just short.
‘I was looking for John [Holland on the last play], and it seemed like he was over-guarded a little bit, so I was trying to reverse it back the other way,’ Johnson said. ‘I got it to Matt, and he shot it. It looked good from my angle, but it just bounced out.’
Though he and the Terriers could not come through in the end, Johnson’s 40 minutes of action was twice the amount he has played in any game this season. With Morris gone, Johnson will slide into the crucial role of starting point guard for a team in desperate need of stability. If Johnson’s solid play Thursday night was any indication, Morris’s injury might come with a significant silver lining.
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