A back-and-forth game turned sour early on for the Boston University men’s basketball team as Colgate University defeated them 85-78.
The Terriers (10-10, 3-4 Patriot League) were only down two at halftime, but shot a measly 38.5 percent from the field compared to Colgate’s (9-9, 5-2 Patriot League) 52 percent in the half.
The game shifted at the 12:59 mark of the second half with BU down 53-50. The Raiders offense exploded as they went on a 17-4 run that made the score 70-54, and the Terriers could never recover.
In the second half alone, Colgate shot a staggering 66.7 percent from outside the arc and 65.2 percent from the field. This included three players that had double-digit points.
“We had a hard time containing them off the dribble and through the shot clock,” said BU head coach Joe Jones. “We did a decent job early in the shot clock, but around 12 seconds or so we broke down, couldn’t contain and they were able to make plays.”
Sophomore Jordan Swopshire hit five 3-pointers throughout the game for the Raiders, including one while being fouled by senior forward Nathan Dieudonne to convert a four-point play.
Dieudonne was one of the lone highlights for the Terriers on offense, as he finished with a double-double, consisting of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely also got involved for BU, as he finished the game with 17 points and three rebounds.
“He’s not fully healthy, he’s just playing with great toughness with that stress fracture,” Jones said regarding Mosely, who missed time earlier this season due to a foot injury. “It’s just something we have to monitor and keep his minutes down the best we can.”
The Terriers were winning by six points early in the second half, as a free throw preceded by a layup from junior guard Eric Fanning built the lead up. BU, however, just did not have an answer for Colgate senior Austin Tillotson, who finished with 22 points and four assists.
A Terrier that most embodied his team’s performance was junior forward Blaise Mbargorba. He registered a strong showing of eight points and two rebounds in just seven minutes of the first half, yet he finished the game with the same eight points and four rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
An area of success throughout the game for the Terriers was their ability to force turnovers, as the Raiders gave the ball away 17 times. Unfortunately, BU could only convert 15 points off of those opportunities.
“They did a good job of getting back and not letting us score in transition,” Jones said. “They weren’t really going for the offensive glass as much as they were not trying to let us score in transition. They just did a good job in their transition defense.”
With this loss snapping their three-game winning streak, the Terriers now fall into a tie for fourth place in the Patriot League standings, as five teams currently sit at 3-4.
Things do not get any easier for the squad either, as their next four games are all either against teams that they are tied with or are currently above them in the standings.
It looks like the Terriers will also have to make due with their current rotation of players, as sophomore guards Will Goff and Eric Johnson are not expected back just yet.
“Eric Johnson will be out for at least three more weeks and Will Goff is more day-to-day, but I have no idea when he could return,” Jones said. “He’s not that close to returning now.”
As BU looks for more answers, Jones said he believes that the team’s quick turnaround from Monday’s victory over Loyola University Maryland had an impact on the loss to Colgate.
“Without making any excuses, we [have] got to shoot the ball better,” Jones said. “But if you just look at it logically, we played Monday night and had to travel here, so that’s a tough turnaround. They play Saturday so they can take off Sunday and then practice Monday.”
Jones said he believes the team’s turnaround was part of the reason for the Terrier’s poor 3-point shooting in the contest.
“We’ve been a pretty good 3-point shooting team and I thought we had some good looks,” Jones said, “but we weren’t able to knock them down. We’re capable of knocking those down, we just have to do it.”
