It took everything that they had, but the Boston University men’s basketball team squeezed past conference rival Loyola University Maryland in overtime by a score of 87-84 Monday night at Case Gym.
The Terriers (10-9, 3-3 Patriot League) earned their third-straight win in dramatic style, storming back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to knock off the Greyhounds (4-13, 3-3 Patriot League). Junior guard Eric Fanning scored a career-high 37 points in the effort, the most by a Terrier since John Holland totaled 43 in 2010. Sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely chipped in 15 coming off the bench, including some clutch 3-pointers to keep BU alive.
“I was proud of my guys,” BU head coach Joe Jones said. “We showed a lot of resiliency. It was a great college game. I thought both teams played pretty well. We couldn’t stop them at certain times in the game, especially at the start of the second half. We had a hard time of containing them and they crushed us on the glass. We really need a lot of work in that area.”
“But I was really proud,” Jones added. “It was a great win. There were a lot of positives that you can take out of a game like this.”
The game started with both teams performing well on the offensive side of the ball, as the Terriers and Greyhounds shot 53.3 and 50 percent from the field, respectively.
Neither team was able to pull away until BU went on a 12-4 run to end the half. The spark was created by Fanning and senior guard John Papale, who scored all of the Terriers points during the run to give their team an eight-point lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, Loyola exploded out of the gate, opening on a 31-7 run en route to building a 14-point lead. This was in large part due to the Terriers getting in foul trouble early on in the half. After ten minutes in the half, junior center Blaise Mbargorba, senior forward Nathan Dieudonne and sophomore forward Nick Havener had four fouls each. This caused Jones’ big men to be slightly tentative on defense, creating an advantage for Loyola in the paint.
It seemed as though the Terriers wouldn’t catch up, as the Greyhounds constantly killed any momentum BU was building. Just before the game seemed to be over, however, BU went on an 8-0 run late in the game, tying it at 74 on a Mosely 3-pointer with 2:02 left.
“Cheddi Mosely hasn’t practiced in the last four weeks,” Jones said. “He scored 15 points, but he showed a great level of toughness.”
After that, Loyola took a two-point lead on a floater from forward Jarred Jones, and freshman guard Kyle Foreman missed a contested layup on the other end. After a missed shot from Loyola out of a timeout, Fanning was fouled on a shot attempt and made one of two free throws.
Loyola then took a timeout, missing both free throws. Mosely received the outlet pass and drove to the lane, earning the foul. He also made one of two free throws, sending the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, the Terriers continued to rely on Fanning’s scoring, and he delivered. The Trenton, New Jersey native scored seven points in the period, including five from the free throw line, to help the Terriers secure the win. Fanning finished 17-for-22 from the charity stripe, highlighting his physical approach on offense.
“I played in the offense,” Fanning said. “Once I keep in the offense instead of drifting off into my 1-on-1 game, then I’m a lot better. That’s when I struggle, when I rely on my 1-on-1 game. I was aggressive. A lot of games I come out real passive, and this year we lost a lot of guys, so I’ve just got to come out aggressive in the game to try and help the team win.”
The Terriers will next travel to face Colgate University, a team that is third in the Patriot League. However, an exciting win like this serves as a big morale boost for Jones and his team.
“It’s a confidence booster,” Fanning said. “Coach Jones has been preaching to us all year, ‘You battle hard and play hard, you’ll get wins.’ A lot of times [this season], we thought we were playing hard, then we watch the film of the games and you can see we’re not playing with any emotion or any effort.”
“Just to come out like this and battle all the way back is just a big confidence booster for our guys and shows we can actually play,” Fanning added. “For those who didn’t have as much confidence, it shows that we can play with anyone.”
Nick is currently writing for the Boston Hockey Blog. In the past, he has served as associate sports editor, and has covered men's and women's cross-country, women's soccer, men's basketball, and men's lacrosse for the Daily Free Press. You can keep track of Nick's exciting life by following him on Twitter at @nikfraz14
