Terriers falter in second half, fall to Navy in overtime, 60-58

The Boston University men’s basketball team dropped its closest Patriot League matchup this season, 60-58, against the United States Naval Academy at home on Thursday.

In an overtime thriller, the Terriers (10-10, 4-3 Patriot League) had several missed opportunities late, which allowed the Midshipmen (11-7, 5-2 Patriot League) to sneak out of a packed Case Gym with a victory. 

With a chance to take the lead while down one with 57 seconds left in play, BU senior forward and captain Max Mahoney attempted to swing the ball from the paint to the corner for an open shot, but gave the possession away.

BU got a final attempt to win the game with six seconds left, when freshman guard Ethan Brittain-Watts got a look at the basket for a mid-range jump shot that took several bounces before landing in a Navy defender’s hands.

BU promptly fouled, leaving 0.7 seconds on the clock during which Navy converted one of two free throws.

Sophomore guard Walter Whyte’s desperation throw down the court ended up hitting the basket tucked near the ceiling in the middle of the court, which was ruled out of bounds and the ball was given back to the Midshipmen, effectively ending the game.

Despite the tough loss, BU head coach Joe Jones said in the post-game press conference he was proud of his team’s fight and had faith throughout the game that his team would pull off a miracle. 

“I just felt like we were going to make a play to win,” Jones said. “Even when we were down with 0.7 seconds, I kept feeling like ‘alright, something’s going to happen, we’re going to come out on top.”

The Terriers scrapped their way back into the game after being down 30-21 with 19:29 to go in the second half.

A clutch three from Whyte gave the Terriers a late 51-49 lead with just over a minute left in regulation.

However, Navy junior guard Cam Davis came back with a layup to tie it up at 51. Then, with 20 seconds left, BU junior guard Javante McCoy missed a potential game-winner, giving Navy the ball, but the Terriers were able to stop Navy’s attempt at the buzzer.

Jones praised his team’s will and determination to grind out games and chip away at opponents’ leads.

“They battle. There’s no quit in this team,” Jones said. “They battle, they fight, they scrap, they claw, they want to win for each other. They have a lot of the right traits.”

Case Gym was packed for BU’s annual Club Sports Night. The club sports teams in attendance created a raucous environment, which Jones said he would want to have at every home game.

“[The players] love the intensity of the arena. I mean, it’s one of those things you wish it was like for every game,” Jones said. “It’s a great atmosphere to play in every year.”

Despite an action-packed second half and overtime period, the first half of the game was BU’s lowest-scoring half this season, with the Terriers only scoring 19 points in 20 minutes. In the first eight minutes, the Terriers had scored only four points against a stout Navy defense.

At the break, McCoy led BU in scoring with seven points. Mahoney and Whyte, the two leading scorers for BU on the season, had only combined for five total in the first half.

However, Whyte and Mahoney bounced back in the second half to lead the Terriers in scoring with 14 points.

The Terriers will be looking to get back into the winner’s column on Saturday against the College of the Holy Cross in a Turnpike Trophy battle in Worcester at 2 p.m.

Jones said his team knows what they are capable of and is confident the Terriers can come back from tough losses.

“The guys are really believing that they can do this, and that’s what’s good,” Jones said. “I mean, you’re going to have games like this, that you lose in overtime, and you’ve got to get better, but there’s just a good feeling about this group. They really fight and pull for each other, and we’ll be back, we’ll battle through this.”