Fresh off its first home win, the Boston University men’s basketball team will attempt to keep the momentum going when it wraps up a three-game homestand Saturday afternoon against Saint Peter’s University.
Wednesday night, the Terriers (2-4) broke a streak of disappointing performances when they downed Binghamton University 77-65 at Case Gymnasium. The Terriers will aim to replicate that performance as opposed to their previous Nov. 30 loss to the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
“If you’re going to be a successful basketball program, you need to be able to win at home consistently,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “Let’s hope that our guys get comfortable here and play well again.”
Thus far, sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson and junior guard John Papale have led the Terrier offense. They are the only players who average double-digit points per game and play more than 35 minutes per tilt.
However, in the Binghamton (1-7) game, a variety of the team’s younger players stepped up to help take some of the pressure off Hankerson and Papale.
“The big thing is that everything is so new to us in terms of the rotation, who to play, when to play them,” Jones said. “You have to go through this early part of the season and figure some things out. I’m hoping the last game was a step in the right direction and just as a staff so much of that is figuring out who plays well in the game together.”
Freshman guard Cheddi Mosely, whom Jones has inserted into the starting lineup, continued his solid start to the season against the Bearcats, notching 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Sophomore guard Eric Fanning may have had his coming out party Wednesday night as the transfer came off the bench to give the Terriers 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field with four assists.
“The bench came in and did a great job with their energy level,” Jones said. “I would say that’s the number one thing. The energy from the bench really helped us.”
Like the Terriers, Saint Peter’s (2-6) has also had an inconsistent start to its season, as the team began 0-4. The Peacocks have struggled in late-game situations, losing four times by a margin of three points or fewer.
BU last matched up against the Peacocks Nov. 30, 2013 and defeated its opponent in the final seconds of the contest 66-65. Junior forward Nathan Dieudonne recorded 21 points in the game, which included the game-winning free throw with 1.7 seconds left on the clock.
“We’re pretty familiar with them,” Jones said. “They are very similar to last year’s team. They are talented and can really shoot the ball. They have good point guard play and have a forward who’s really talented.”
Leading the Peacocks is a pair of seniors in Marvin Dominique and Desi Washington. Both players are averaging more than 10 points a game, but Dominique also brings a rebounding edge, as he averages a near double-double with 9.1 rebounds per game.
The two teams are very similar in several statistical categories including rebounds per game as Saint Peter’s averages 31.4 while BU averages 31.7.
Free throws are a point of weakness for both sides. The Peacocks are shooting a paltry 64.3 percent from the line while the Terriers are not doing too much better, making an average of 68.7 percent.
The most remarkable similarity between the teams is their field goal percentages. Saint Peter’s averages 40.9 percent from the field with a 37.6 percent conversion rate on 3-pointers. Meanwhile, BU shoots 41.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from deep.
Jones pointed out the similarities between the two teams and noted that the Peacocks should pose more of a challenge than their record shows.
“They [Saint Peter’s] beat Rutgers [University] by double figures and had a bunch of close games that they’ve lost,” Jones said. “The thing you see the most is their ability to shoot it and share the ball, which they are very similar to us in, so it should be a good one.”
