After a second half offensive eruption that saw four Terriers surpass double-digit points, the Boston University men’s basketball team triumphantly beat the Bucknell University Bison 77-62 on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the game, a red-hot Bison (10-15, 7-5 Patriot League) team that had won four out of their last five games looked to sweep the season series after defeating BU 73-57 at Case Gym on Jan. 17. The Terriers (10-15, 5-7 PL) were looking to rebound from a hard-fought loss to PL leaders Colgate Raiders, and build some momentum as the regular season nears the end.
“I think our guys did a good job of understanding what we needed to do to win … just really proud of the effort,” Terriers Head Coach Joe Jones said..
During a very even first half, BU’s active defense set the tone and sent an early message to the Bison. As they’ve been doing all year, sophomore forwards Nico Nobili and Otto Landrum facilitated from the post, finding hard cutters in the first few possessions. The visitors kept the ball moving on offense, yet they only had 25 points to show for it at half.
Bucknell, on the other hand, took a three pointer-heavy approach in the first half, shooting 4 for 15.. Senior guard Jack Forrest, attempted five of those but only made one. Forrest, a St. Joseph’s transfer who has averaged 16.8 points this season, totaled 18 points on the day.
Both teams played physical defense without fouling. In doing so, BU managed to keep 7-foot-tall phenom sophomore center Noah Williamson to just seven points, below his per-game average of 12.7 . A low scoring first half saw the Terriers up 25-24.
“We did a good job of blitzing [Williamson],” coach Jones said. “If you told me going into the game that he was going to have one field goal, I’d feel pretty good about winning the game.”
The second half was a different story. BU exploded for 52 second-half points, led by freshman Kyrone Alexander who finished with a career high 19 points.
“He’s been doing a great job of getting the ball to the basket,” Jones said. “He made two threes, he got himself to the foul line, he had six assists, he did a little bit of everything.”
One of those assists was a full-court pass to sophomore forward Otto Landrum. Alexander got the ball from the inbound, and heaved a court-long pass to Landrum who got an easy finish at the rim.
Senior guard Miles Brewster was once again an offensive catalyst, and continued his hot streak from beyond the arc, previously making 11 out of his last 16 prior to Saturday, by adding three makes from behind the arc.
Where the Terriers really thrived was breaking Bucknell’s trap press, showing comfort stringing passes together in the face of pressure, which allowed for some two-on-one opportunities on the other end. 22 out of BU’s 28 buckets were assisted, displaying the togetherness and chemistry the young squad is developing.
In what was the play of the game midway through the second half, junior guard Ethan Okwuosa dribbled between his legs and stepped back for three, with the defense draped over him. As the shot clock expired, Okwuosa nailed the deep shot and pushed BU’s lead to 10 points once again.
The Bison tried to come back, but the Terriers’ shot-making today was simply too much for Bucknell to finish a comeback effort.
“I think there’s just a lot at stake and we have to take advantage of every opportunity,” coach Jones said. “We have to put ourselves in a position to get ready for the Patriot League Tournament.”
Up next for BU is an away tilt at Army West Point, on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
