On the heels of a tough loss at Bucknell University Sunday, the Boston University men’s basketball team will look to get back on the winning track in the final stretch of the regular season on Wednesday night at Agganis Arena against the United States Military Academy.
With only two games left to go before the start of the Patriot League tournament, the Terriers (12-15, 8-8 Patriot League) seek to capitalize against an Army (15-12, 6-10 Patriot League) team that, despite a better overall record than BU, currently sits in last place in the conference. The Terriers, on the other hand, are tied for fourth.
BU will close out the regular season with a pair of home games. The Terriers have had success at home as they own a 7-5 record in games played on Commonwealth Avenue.
Most recently, the Terriers fell to the Bison (17-12, 12-4 Patriot League) in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday by a score of 78-69. Bucknell took the lead with just over 13 minutes left to play in the first half and never let up.
“The only positive I can take away from that game is hopefully it helps us to be more focused next time,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “We got outcoached and outplayed in that game, but after a loss, we usually come out more determined.”
Bucknell showed why it leads the Patriot League standings Sunday as it took control of the game from the opening tip. Junior Chris Hass, who is tied with BU’s own sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson for second in Patriot League scoring average, led the way for the Bison on the day with 20 points, which included four 3-pointers.
The Bison shot 46.2 percent from the field and 71.9 percent from the line, both of which were key to their success in this contest.
Before the loss to Bucknell, BU had a string of victories during which the team played stellar defense. In each of their last four victories, the Terriers held the opposing team to under 61 points. Jones said if this team wants to go far in the Patriot League tournament, this type of defense will be essential to success.
“We’re going to have to do a great job in transition moving forward,” he said. “It starts first with our transition. We’ve got do a great job of communicating, and then our ball-screen defense needs to be on point.”
On the offensive end, however, the Terriers have had no problems as of late. During its last six games, BU has averaged 69.5 points per contest.
This is due in large part to the efforts of both Hankerson and sophomore guard Eric Fanning. The two have gone back and forth in recent weeks, taking turns as the team’s leading scorer, but Jones has confidence in both of the young men.
“Both guys are terrific kids,” he said. “They’re very talented, they’ve done a great job on the offensive end, but I think the biggest thing for both guys is that they need to continue to take strides in improving defensively.”
Fanning, a transfer from Wagner College, has the second-highest scoring average on the team with 12.6 points per game, but he does a lot more than score. Although he plays 12 fewer minutes per game than Hankerson, he has hit the second-most free throws on the team — shooting a smooth 76.8 percent from the line — and also adds 3.7 rebounds per contest.
Hankerson has led the team in scoring on 13 occasions thus far this season after a freshman campaign in which he only accomplished the feat twice.
For BU to defeat the Black Knights, they will need to continue to play well on the offensive side of the ball as well as on defense. Army currently sits atop the Patriot League in scoring offense, averaging an impressive 73.7 points per game. They also boast the fourth-best scoring margin among the 10 teams in the conference.
Fresh off a 72-63 victory against American University on Sunday, the Black Knights will look to continue their strong offensive output against the Terriers. Army boasts two of the top five scorers in the Patriot League — juniors Kyle Wilson and Tanner Plomb — and a key for BU will be containing the duo.
“We just want to force those guys to take the shots that we want them to take,” Jones said. “Both guys are great players. I don’t know if you can stop them, but you want to make everything hard for them.”
In addition, the Black Knights have prevailed in close-game situations. The team is 5-1 in games decided by three points or less in the 2015 season. Jones said the Terriers will do everything in their power to keep that total at five.
“We’ve got to be ready,” Jones said. “I think the team that defends the best is going to win, and we need to be up for the challenge.”
Nick Neville is a junior in COM studying journalism and the Sports Editor of the Daily Free Press. When he's not making a paper on Beacon Street, you can catch him working as a Sports Correspondent for the Boston Globe or helping to produce BU's only professional sports talk show, Offsides. Follow him on Twitter: @n_nebs95
