Trailing 90-88 with 0.2 seconds left in overtime, United States Military Academy guard Jacob Kessler’s three free-throws stood to be the difference between victory and defeat.
After sinking the first attempt, Kessler just needed to make at least one more to force double-overtime.
He went on to miss the next two, and the Boston University men’s basketball team left Case Gym with a sense of relief following its narrow 90-89 triumph over Army (8-13, 2-7 Patriot League) on Wednesday night.
The win not only snapped the Terriers’ (11-10, 6-3 Patriot League) three-game losing streak, it also marked head coach Joe Jones’ 100th career victory at the helm of the men’s basketball program.
It took a team-effort — and a superb performance from senior guard Eric Fanning — to seal the BU victory, as its record went back above .500.
The Trenton, New Jersey native led all scorers with a season-high 32 points, and had help from teammates Tyler Scanlon (17 points), Justin Alston (15 points) and Cedric Hankerson (13 points).
“At this level, not too many people have guys that are as physically gifted [as Fanning],” Jones said. “He’s an above-average athlete. He’s in the top two percent of athletes in this league and he’s a guy who can also shoot a three, so at times, when he starts getting the ball … and when he starts getting downhill, he’s hard to stop.”
Both the Terriers and the Black Knights started hot, but it was the Terriers who closed out the first half with the 46-42 lead.
Fanning went into the locker room with 11 points, but it was Hankerson who paced BU, scoring all 13 of his points in the opening 20 minutes. Alston, sophomore guard Kyle Foreman and Scanlon each chipped in six points.
After Army tied it up in the second half, two successive buckets from Fanning and Alston gave BU the 60-56 advantage, but after a 3-pointer by Army forward Luke Morrison trimmed the deficit to 60-59, the home side kicked it up a notch.
The Terriers responded by going on a 12-6 run to put them up by eight with 5:54 left in the contest.
From that point on, the Black Knights made sure they wouldn’t leave Boston without giving BU one last scare.
A free-throw from freshman Tommy Funk with 2:07 remaining capped off what was a 9-0 run for Army and put it in front, 76-75, its first lead since it was up 52-51 at the 15:17 mark.
Each team ended regulation trading layups, and when Alston’s bucket gave the Terriers the 77-76 lead with 59 seconds left, victory seemed inevitable.
A Fanning foul with 44 seconds remaining, however, sent Black Knight John Emezie to the free-throw line.
Emezie sank the first of his two attempts to knot the game at 77-77 to send the contest into overtime.
“I thought we made a ton of foolish plays” Jones said. “We had a chance and we missed a layup at the rim. We turned it over. We missed foul shots … that’s what happens. At the end, the game changes. You can play a game for 38 minutes, and if it’s a five-point game, the last two minutes are completely different.”
Emezie’s layup to open overtime play gave Army the 79-77 advantage, only to be followed by a Scanlon three-pointer and a Fanning layup for BU to retake the lead, 82-79, with 2:28 left.
A dunk by Alston, coupled with a pair of free-throws from Fanning, gave the Terriers what seemed to be the game-clinching 89-83 lead with just 16 seconds left in overtime.
That’s when Emezie emerged again.
The Waxhaw, North Carolina, native scored his team’s next five points, including a three-pointer to trim the BU lead to 89-88 with four seconds remaining.
After Fanning made one-of-two from the foul line to up the Terriers advantage to 90-88, the Black Knights had two seconds left to either tie or claim a last-second miracle victory.
The ending was perfectly set up for them, too.
Army inbounded the ball to Kessler, whose three-point effort from half court was contested by Fanning, and fell short.
The Terriers cheered, thinking victory was theirs, only for it to be negated after Fanning was called for a foul, sending Kessler to the line for three shots.
Luckily for BU, Kessler missed his last two free throws, and finally, they were able to celebrate the narrowest of wins.
“For me, the numbers really aren’t that important” Jones said. “I don’t really get excited about things like [my 100th win at BU]. I love to see the smile on [the players’] faces when they win.”
