The Boston University men’s basketball team season record fell to 2-3 after a tightly-contested 49-54 loss to the Columbia University Lions Tuesday. 

“[We’re] really proud of our team tonight,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said in a postgame interview. “Fighting back, being on the road and having a chance to tie it at the end.”

Following a first half in which the Terriers (2-3, 0-0 Patriot League) shot 7-28 from the floor and 2-13 for 3-pointers while also posting more turnovers than assists, the depleted squad rallied in the second half. BU’s leading scorers were freshman guard Chance Gladden and sophomore forward Ben Defty, both notching 14 points.

“I thought Columbia had a good game plan,” Jones said. “They took us out of our offense, we weren’t able to make passes. They denied passes. Our offensive execution was awful.” 

The glaring result of poor offensive execution for the Terriers was the 3-point line. BU — usually a dependable source of offense — made just two of 18 attempts despite averaging 8.2 makes per game with a 34% 3-point shooting rate. 

The game told a tale of two completely different halves. After being dominated in the first, entering halftime down 20-37, the Terriers buckled down in the second. They held Columbia to just six of 27 from the floor and 0-8 for 3-pointers, while also forcing six turnovers in the second half. 

The Terriers cut the lead from 19 points with 18:44 left in the second half all the way down to two with less than a minute remaining before their efforts ultimately fell short. 

“Our guys played with absolute toughness, rebound[ed] the ball with toughness and were able to stem the tide and get back in the game,” Jones said.

Due to the injury-riddled roster, with only seven Terriers touching the court, there was an opportunity for players to ascend to an advanced role. Senior guard Ben Roy capitalized, scoring 13 points while only missing two shots.

Jones praised Roy’s performance, and said “he played great the whole game” while also providing “great leadership.”

In regard to the injuries, which remain a present issue, Jones said graduate student guard Ethan Okwuosa will be evaluated Thursday and “will go from there.”

As for junior guard Kyrone Alexander and graduate student forward Malcolm Chimezie, “I don’t suspect either one of those guys to be with us in the next week,” Jones said.

The Terriers had a chance to tie the game after Jones called a timeout with 49 seconds left in the second half. Coming out of the huddle, it was clear that the focus was getting the ball to Defty in the interior. But as a result of sound Columbia defense, that attempt was thwarted, forcing the Terriers to settle for an unsuccessful contested corner three from Roy.

“I think if we could have had a better set at the end, we could have tied it up,” Jones said. “But [I’m] very impressed with the fight and the belief in what we’re trying to do and that’s gonna carry over, and hopefully we will get some guys back in the near future.”

The Terriers head to Uncasville, Connecticut where they will play Harvard in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase Saturday.