The College of the Holy Cross spoiled the Boston University men’s basketball team’s hopes earning a home game in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League tournament, as it defeated the Terriers 77-70 in Worcester on Saturday.
Holy Cross (13-15, 8-10 Patriot League) closed out the season on a strong note, improving its unimpressive road record to 3-11.
“We got outplayed. It’s as simple as that,” said BU coach Joe Jones. “They were focused … their energy was better. We talk about accountability, and tonight, we just didn’t get a great effort from everyone. That being said, I thought our three juniors and [sophomore guard] Cedric Hankerson did a great job.”
The Terriers (13-16, 9-9 Patriot League) came out firing from the opening tip, but it was the Crusaders who had the edge in the first half. BU scored the first seven points of the game and showcased a high level of intensity, but turnovers would plague the Terriers as the half went on.
The team surrendered the ball four times in the first five minutes, but despite the early struggles handling the ball, the Terriers held the lead for the first eight minutes.
“We have been struggling playing against pressure and playing against people that extend out on us,” Jones said of the turnovers. “Our decision making wasn’t great. It’s just been an Achilles heel for us, and it led to a lot of baskets for them.”
Holy Cross took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer from guard Cullen Hamilton. Eleven of the Crusaders’ first 13 points came off BU turnovers.
However, there were a few bright spots for the Terriers, who had five players in double figures. Junior forward Justin Alston scored a team-high nine points through the first 20 minutes of action. The 6-foot-8 forward finished with 15 points and five boards on the afternoon.
Coming into this game, Alston had just set a career-high with 18 points in a 63-57 win against the United States Military Academy on Wednesday.
“He’s been terrific,” Jones said of Alston. “He’s been someone that you can count on … and he’s such a great kid, he’s a winner and he’s a BU basketball player. He just epitomizes what we’re all about.”
The play of junior guard John Papale was also impressive throughout the first half. The steady guard, who ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio, scored eight points in the first half and surrendered just one turnover while playing the entire 20 minutes.
In addition, he added two key 3-pointers for BU in the first half, finishing with three long-range makes on the day. His first, a stepback with eight minutes left in the half, put the Terriers up 19-16. His second, a buzzer-beater to end the first half, brought the Terriers within two points.
The second half was a high-scoring affair, as the two teams combined to score 87 points. BU’s turnover troubles continued, as it finished with 17 turnovers on the day. The Crusaders capitalized on these in a big way, scoring 27 points off turnovers.
The Terriers kept it close in the second half, but never were able to take the lead. The play of junior forward Nathan Dieudonne was crucial during the final 20 minutes, as he chipped in nine points. Papale found Dieudonne on an inbounds play with eight-and-a-half minutes to go, and he emphatically dunked it home. The score was 53-51 at that point, but that was the closest BU was able to get.
Missed free throws also hindered the Terriers in their attempted comeback. They shot 15-for-20 from the line, good for 75 percent for the game, but missed key shots from the charity stripe at important moments.
For a team that has one of the worst 3-point shooting percentages in the Patriot League, Holy Cross shot exceptionally well from deep. The Crusaders improved upon their season average of 32 percent to shoot 65 percent from long range, including 9-for-10 from distance in the second half.
This was due in large part to the contributions from senior Malcolm Miller and sophomore Robert Champion, who paced the Crusaders’ scoring output with 30 and 16 points respectively. The two combined to score 10 3-pointers on the afternoon, with Champion shooting a perfect 4-for-4.
Following this defeat, the Terriers will head to Pennsylvania on Thursday to take on Lafayette College in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League tournament.
“I don’t know if we need a rah-rah speech at this point,” Jones said. “I’ll probably give it because that’s what I do, but this time of the year, it has got to come from within … If you’re a competitor, you want to go out and compete, and you have the chance to go out against a very good team in a good venue and win a playoff game.”
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
