When Boston University men’s basketball team faced the United States Military Academy eight days ago, the team was one loss away from having a record below .500 for the first time since Jan. 1.
With Army (8-14, 2-8 Patriot League) missing a free throw in overtime, the Terriers (12-10, 7-3 Patriot League) preserved the one-point victory. The Terriers, winning another game at Lehigh University a week later, are looking to extend the winning streak when they take on the United States Naval Academy Thursday night at Case Gym.
Not only is BU looking to restore the momentum it showed at the beginning of 2017, when it went on a season-best five-game winning streak, but a victory over the Midshipmen (12-10, 7-3 Patriot League) would give it sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings, behind Bucknell University.
The Terriers are entering the contest fresh off a decisive 76-59 victory over Lehigh (12-9, 6-4 Patriot League) Monday night, their first double-digit triumph since Jan. 11 against American University.
BU head coach Joe Jones credited his team’s overwhelming effort throughout the game as the main reason behind his team’s dominance against the Mountain Hawks.
“I thought we played very hard,” Jones said. “Outside the first three or four minutes, we really competed hard. Then our bench came in and they played great. [They were] really giving us a lift and I thought that set the tone for the rest of the game.”
BU had great performances from seniors guard Eric Fanning (27 points, 8 rebounds), forward Justin Alston (11 points) and sophomore guard Kyle Foreman (9 points, 7 assists).
The Terriers’ bench was also active, as Jones received quality production from freshman forward Max Mahoney (8 points), junior guard Will Goff (6 points) and junior guard Eric Johnson (5 points, 5 steals).
Jones expects another high-quality contest against Navy, a team that’s riding a season-high seven-game winning streak.
All but one of those victories — a 75-72 win over Lehigh on Jan. 18 — were double-digit triumphs.
The multi-talented forward Tom Lacey, who averages eight points and eight rebounds per game, is the biggest threat from Midshipmen. Lacey is the leading rebounder on one of the more aggressive rebounding teams in the conference, which averages just under 35 rebounds per game.
“Navy is a terrific team,” Jones said. “[The Midshipmen] are playing great basketball right now. They’re the hottest team in the league and the first thing we have to do is rebound the ball. They have a kid, Tom Lacey, who’s the best rebounder right now in the league. He goes very hard, so if we’re fortunate in getting them to miss their first shot, we can’t give them second shots.”
Jones noted the Midshipmen’s all-around offensive consistency across their leading scorers.
While Navy has one double-digit scorer — guard Shawn Anderson (12.4 points per game) — it has four players who average at least eight points per game: forwards George Kiernan and Lacey (8.9 and 8.1 ppg, respectively) as well as guards Hasan Abdullah and Bryce Dulin (8.7 and 8.6 ppg, respectively).
“We need to understand their personnel,” Jones said. “Abdullah and Dulin are shooting the ball really, really well. Anderson is a prolific scorer who can really drive the ball and finish. Then they bring guys off the bench like Kiernan that can catch and shoot and put it on the floor for a few dribbles.”
As Fanning and Alston are be expected to carry most of BU’s offensive workload (15.1 and 11.6 ppg, respectively), they will need help from other teammates to slow this streaking Navy team.
“We have to be committed to defending and rebounding,” Jones added. “On the offensive end, we have to attack their pressure and limit our turnovers.”
