The new year has started with a bang for the Boston University men’s basketball team.
The Terriers (9-7, 4-0 Patriot League) downed conference foe Lafayette College 91-75 on Sunday in the back end of their road trip for their fourth straight win.
BU rode a record-setting 18 3-pointers to victory over the Leopards (6-9, 2-2 Patriot League), one game after an impressive 12-27 showing from behind the arc against the United States Naval Academy.
Terriers head coach Joe Jones cited his team’s hot hand and tenacity as key reasons for their road triumph.
“We shot the ball really well tonight,” Jones said. “[The Leopards] are an excellent offensive team. In stretches, I thought we played with great effort, but tonight we shot well and then we had some stretches where we battled, so [it] was a combination of those two things.”
Many BU players got in on the action offensively against Lafayette. Junior guard Cedric Hankerson led the way with 21 points and six 3-pointers, while senior guard Eric Fanning (18 points), freshman forward Tyler Scanlon (12 points) and junior guard Eric Johnson (11 points) each posted double-digit scoring totals.
BU finished the contest dominating in every offensive category to its record-breaking three-point efficiency.
“Our bench played very well. Guys have come in to do what they do well. Max Mahoney’s going to play hard [and] make hustle plays. Nick Havener’s going to play hard and make hustle plays. Will Goff’s going to make open shots and Eric Johnson’s going to run the offense,” Jones said. “That’s our bench and then the starters have to [do] their jobs, so collectively we’ve gotten good play out of everyone.”
From the opening tip, the Terriers appeared focused and ready to play.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Hankerson and Fanning in the opening 43 seconds helped BU jump out to a quick 6-0 lead.
The Terriers’ advantage got to nine points in the early stages before the Leopards began to rally back.
Lafayette then went on a 14-3 run of its own, fueled by junior Matt Klinewski, who scored a game-high 34 points, and senior guard Nick Lindner. Both players had six points during that stretch, which put the Leopards ahead 19-17.
At the 12:18 mark, Goff responded with a 3-pointer to put the Terriers up 20-19, regaining a lead they would not relinquish.
The Leopards did have a chance to retake the lead when they were down 31-30 with 4:19 remaining in the first half, only for BU to close out the opening half on a 14-3 run to go up 45-33.
A quick Lafayette 5-0 run to open the second half trimmed the Terriers advantage to 45-38, but that was as close as the home side would get.
A fitting 3-pointer from Scanlon at the 18:52 mark gave BU the double-digit lead once again.
The Terriers drained eight more 3-pointers along the way en route to breaking a school record and tying the score.
“When we went man, we had a little bit more success,” Jones said of his team’s offensive pace. “Klinewski was terrific tonight. He crushed us, and Lindner played very well. [They] shot the ball very well so those two guys played very well but we thought if those two guys got their scoring average that we’d be okay.”
