Playing without the Patriot League leader in total rebounds put another test in front of the Boston University men’s basketball team when it took on Loyola University Maryland Saturday afternoon.
The Terriers (16-11, 9-5 Patriot League) still emerged as 73-65 victors over the Greyhounds (8-17, 7-7 Patriot League), marking yet another passed test for head coach Joe Jones’ team. Although senior forward Nathan Dieudonne missed out of the affair because of injury, five Terriers finished with double-digit scoring and the Greyhounds shot just 32.4 percent from the field.
“[I’m] really proud of the guys,” Jones said. “They really stepped up, especially with Nate’s absence. You can’t ask for a better effort from our guys. As long as they’re doing that, as a coach, you’re really happy about that.”
The game was spotless at the start, as the Terriers raced out to 20-7 lead when sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely converted a layup off a slick pass from junior forward Dylan Haines.
Haines made the most of his time on the court, as he spent his 15 minutes of action trying to fill in for Dieudonne. The 7-footer pulled down five rebounds to go along with 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
“That gives you a big lift in this guy’s confidence,” Jones said. “Those two [3-pointers] he hit were very important, and I was very happy for him.”
The Terrier lead would balloon to a game-high 17 points on a dunk by sophomore forward Nick Havener with 7:39 left in the first half. Despite the Terriers’ 12-point lead at halftime, the Greyhounds would eventually cut the lead to four points with 15:35 left in the second half.
The closest Loyola would come to erasing the lead completely came with slightly less than three minutes left in the contest. Guard Eric Laster hit a jump shot to make the score 63-60 in favor of BU.
Immediately after, senior guard John Papale drove the length of the court and drew contact that landed him two successful foul shots. BU went a perfect 14-for-14 on the night from the free throw line, and Papale’s clutch shots were followed by a missed Loyola 3-pointer that junior guard Eric Fanning turned into a layup to all but seal up the victory.
Fanning finished tied for the team lead in points with 14, but also added a team-high 15 rebounds for a double-double, only the second of his career.
“We asked all the guys to step up, and obviously the last month or so we’ve had to really rely on Nate to pull down the ball and then ignite our fast break because he’s such a great rebounder,” Jones said. “So we told our guys that we really needed to step up in that area, and I think Eric took it upon himself to make sure that we were controlling the glass.”
Dieudonne relied on crutches to deal with his ankle injury at the game, and while Jones does not believe the forward is done for the season, it will certainly continue to affect the Terriers.
“He’s more day-to-day,” Jones said. “He’ll see the doctor on Monday, and we’ll see how it goes. I think there’s a chance that he’ll be back, but right now it’s just too early to tell.”
As for the rest of the team, BU’s stifling defense will have to keep the pace up to remain second in the Patriot League standings. During their winning streak, the Terriers have kept opponents to an average of 68.3 points per game, which is about four points below their season average.
“We’ve been able to mix up our zone,” Jones said. “Between zone and man, guys are just playing harder. We’ve [been] more active, and we’re just making things harder for people. Earlier in the conference season, we weren’t able to dictate that. We let other teams do what they wanted.”
