After rattling off two straight wins for the first time all season, the Boston University men’s basketball team sank back into the loss column Saturday afternoon, falling, 84-68, to Canisius College.
The Golden Griffins (4-6) marched out to a commanding first half lead over BU (5-6), and finished the first frame up 43-24. That wide margin was the result of struggles across the board, as the Terriers turned the ball over 16 times, made one of eight 3-pointers and lost the rebounding battle 22-15.
Come the second half, the narrative changed somewhat, as BU outscored Canisius 44-41. However, those efforts weren’t enough, and the performances of Canisius junior Phil Valenti (21 points) and senior Malcolm McMillan (20 points) created a gap that even an inspiring comeback couldn’t overcome.
BU coach Joe Jones said he was disappointed in the result, even if the Terriers improved in the second half.
“We kept competing,” he said. “We got to more loose balls and in the first half we got to none and they beat us to every single one. We were two steps behind at times and then started making some plays and gave away the ball less.”
While a 16-point loss seemed daunting, several key Terriers performed with promise. Senior guard John Papale scored 16 points, sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely netted 11 points of his own and junior guard Eric Fanning dropped a team-leading 18 points.
As has been the case for much of the season, freshman guard Kyle Foreman dished out a game-high six assists, including four in the second half. Outside of those showings, BU got little stop-defense or offensive output going, revealing the obstacles of a team plagued by injuries.
Junior guard Cedric Hankerson and senior forward Justin Alston, both sure-fire starters and team leaders, are out for the season with respective knee and foot injuries. As a result, players were thrust into roles against Canisius they’re not usually accustomed to.
Jones said he didn’t want to use the injury situation as a copout and said his team has to tackle the issue collectively, but he did acknowledge the mental challenges it poses.
“Kyle Foreman is dealing with a bone bruise, Cheddi Mosely has a stress fracture in his foot and neither guy has practiced,” he said. “We have eight healthy bodies and two walk-ons right now. We haven’t been able to do a ton and it’s shown, but those are all excuses you can make.”
Jones also stressed his team has no choice but to stay the course.
“You have to fight through it and battle through it,” he said. “We’ve got to be mentally tougher and overcome the fact that we’ve been hampered by injuries, since everyone is dealing with the same stuff.”
With a depleted squad in hand, the Terriers won’t wait long for redemption. They return to Case Gym Monday against the University of New Hampshire for only their fourth home game of the year.
Encouraged by his team’s second-half performance against Canisius, Jones stressed that his team simply has to compete for all 40 minutes. If that is done, Jones said he believes the results will follow suit.
“We’ve got to take from this game that you have to be ready to play,” Jones said. “You have to be ready to go. There’s not much to take away from the film, we just have to be ready to compete. If we don’t make toughness plays, we’re going to have a hard time winning.”
Jonathan's a New Englander who writes about sports, features and politics. He currently covers men's hockey at BU, worked as Sports Editor during the spring 2016 semester and is on the FreeP's Board of Directors. Toss him a follow on Twitter at @jonathansigal.
