The Boston University men’s basketball team looked to get its first road win of the season during their visit to the University of Albany but fell short in an 86-72 loss.
This game was not like any other for Terrier head coach Joe Jones, who has a personal connection with the school (4-3) and the City of Albany.
“I met my wife here in Albany, my brother played here, coached here and my sister went to school here,” Jones said. “This place has a special place in my heart.”
Coming off their second 90-point offensive outburst against VTSU-Johnson, the Terriers (2-5) looked to carry the momentum into Broadview Center. BU has historically dominated UAlbany with a 20-10 all-time record, winning their most recent meeting 71-61.
In what is slowly turning into a consistent starting five, Jones’ squad saw four out of the five starters reach double-digit points. The team especially leaned on their two leading scorers of the season, senior guard Miles Brewster and freshman guard Kyrone Alexander, to lead the attack.
Brewster was aggressive and confident with the ball early on. Alexander finished the contest with a team-high 15 points.
The Terriers had minimal production from their bench, but a bright spot was the eight points scored by junior forward Malcolm Chimezie, who played in just his third game back from injury.
“When we made a run, Malcolm helped spearhead that run with his physicality and his athleticism,” Jones said.
On the other side of the court, graduate student guard Tyler Bertram, who did almost all of his damage from beyond the arc going 6-10, led the Great Danes in points. Junior guard Sebastian Thomas, who finished with a double-double (16 points, 10 assists), also contributed.
The first half went back and forth. BU took its time offensively to find good looks, while UAlbany barraged the Terriers with threes. Despite going to the line early and often, the Great Danes missed opportunities to build a lead while going 6-16 from the free-throw line.
Eventually, UAlbany’s offense started clicking, and they finished the half on a 10-0 run.
Down 37-28, the Terriers ended up in a familiar place in the second half.
Initially, BU took the game to its opponents, drawing three quick fouls within the first minute.
A pair of free throws by Chimezie gave the Terriers their first lead of the half with 12 minutes to go, capping off a 13-4 run.
A minute later, UAlbany retook the lead and didn’t look back.
BU once again suffered a free-throw deficit, but the Great Danes took advantage of those opportunities in the second half, going 16-21 for a total of 22-37.
“You’re not beating anybody if you put them on the line 37 times,” Jones said. “In any game, that’s almost impossible to win, so we didn’t really give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
The dagger came at the minute-and-a-half mark, when sophomore guard Ny’Mire Little went between the legs and stepped back to hit UAlbany’s 14th three of the game, causing the home crowd to erupt.
“It’s just been hard for us to get some momentum [on the road], get some confidence,” Jones said. “The understanding of what needs to happen to win consistently is something that we’re gonna have to keep talking about and working through.”
BU will try to break its four-game losing skid when they take on Sacred Heart University in Fairfield on Saturday.
