With a chance to jump to a tie at the top of the Patriot League standings, the Boston University men’s basketball team struggled to keep pace with the conference’s top team, Bucknell University, and fell 91-79.
Heading into the game, BU (11-10, 7-3 Patriot League) head coach Joe Jones identified that it would be key for the Terriers to be versatile defensively in order to match up with Bucknell’s (15-8, 9-1 Patriot League) tough offense.
“We’re a zone team, but we’ve been working hard in our man so we’re prepared if we have to go man … I feel confident if we want to go to one or the other and [succeed],” Jones said.
The Terrier’s defense held strong early on, and BU got out to a fast start with the help of sophomore forward Tyler Scanlon, who lit up the Bucknell defense for 10 early points. Scanlon started out looking to drive the ball into the paint, and knocked down a deep, contested shot from three-point range.
However, as the first half drew to a close, Bucknell seemed to have found a solution to the Terrier zone — get the ball to the heart of the defense.
At the end of the half, the Bison attacked BU’s zone defense and forced it to collapse into the paint to prevent in-close attempts, leaving the perimeter left virtually wide open.
If there was one player to take advantage of the open perimeter, it was Bucknell senior guard Stephen Brown. Brown’s ability to slash into the core of the defense and knock down open jump shots keyed his 21-point scoring burst.
“[Brown] was great tonight,” Jones said. “He was in the lane the whole game … he really controlled the game. Their best players really stepped up.”
Bucknell’s breakneck pace also gave the BU defense fits all afternoon. After each defensive rebound, the Bison would have at least one player break out into the open court for a quick outlet pass.
A fast-paced team like Bucknell proved difficult for the Terriers as they struggled to set up their zone and the Bison easily took advantage of the defensive mismatches that resulted.
“I didn’t think we were able to play at the pace at which the game was being played,” Jones said. “We just had to put more energy into our defense.”
However, the Bucknell fast break not only caused problems for the BU zone. When the Terriers switched to man late in the second half, in an effort to stop the bleeding, the Bison were still able to find open shots.
In the second half alone, Bucknell went 19-for-31 from the field, including four good shots from behind the arc.
“We struggled in transition defense, whether we were zone or man,” Jones said. “They were able to score so many baskets at the rim. We just didn’t have enough resistance defensively … to beat a really good team.”
This game could serve as a wake up call to BU, who still sits in a favorable position heading into the second half of Patriot League play.
Still, for the Terriers to turn the corner after coming up short against the Bison, Jones said the team simply needs to hustle more and play with dedication and mental toughness.
“I thought we hung our heads tonight because it was hard,” Jones said. “We have high expectations of ourselves, and it wasn’t working the way we wanted it to work out … in those situations you have to be able to battle through it.”
