The Boston University men’s basketball team jumped out to a fast start Saturday afternoon, but couldn’t keep up the pace against Bucknell University, falling 74-71.
BU (10-11, 3-5 Patriot League) head coach Joe Jones admitted that mental mistakes in the form of turnovers, missed foul shots and poor defensive plays ultimately proved to be the Terriers’ downfall.
Senior forward Nathan Dieudonne posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore forward Nick Havener pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Terriers played perhaps their best defensive stretch of the season to open the game against the Bison (10-9, 7-1 Patriot League), holding them to just 11-of-29 shooting from the field while maintaining their own red-hot 54.2 percent field goal percentage.
“The way we came out in the first half defensively is how we have to play,” Jones said. “We just couldn’t sustain it … Our 3-point shooting defense has been really poor, so we wanted to improve that. We did a good job with that.”
After junior center Blaise Mbargorba’s layup put his team up 17 points at the 7:39 mark, the tide began to turn and the same mental mistakes that have plagued the Terriers throughout the season began to creep in. Bucknell went on a 18-6 run to end the half and forced five Terrier turnovers in the half’s final eight minutes to head into the break down by just five points.
“If you’re playing against a pretty good team, they’re going to make a run,” Jones said. “We didn’t handle it great. When they came back, I didn’t think we handled it great. Teams are going to make runs.”
The second half of play opened with a Terrier turnover and a trip to the foul line for Bucknell, setting the tone for the rest of the game. A total of 35 fouls were called in the half, slowing the game down and allowing the Bison to continue to stick with the Terriers while Jones was once again forced to manage his bigs’ foul trouble.
“I’d like to see the game be played more physical,” Jones said. “I think it’s kind of an inconsistency and it’s in most games that they let some things go, but they don’t let other things go and they end up calling too much. A lot of times, when you end up playing [power conference] teams, some of those things just aren’t called. They kind of let you play through some of that.”
Jones was also quick to note that the Terriers got to the line 25 times in the second half and converted on just 17 of those attempts. Bucknell had its share of struggles at the charity stripe as well, shooting just 60 percent overall.
“I don’t think the [referees] had anything to do with the outcome of the game,” Jones said. “We got to the foul line enough and had our opportunities at the foul line and we missed too many foul shots.”
After continually knocking on the door, the Bison — led by guard Stephen Brown’s 21 points — finally grabbed a one-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. Several times down the stretch, BU had the chance to take back the lead, but it either coughed up the ball or failed to convert at the line.
Down 68-73 with 17 seconds remaining, senior guard John Papale, known for his clutch performances, almost became a late-game hero again. He drained a 3-pointer to bring the Terriers to within two and then fouled Bucknell guard Ryan Frazier, who went 1-of-2 from the line. Papale got his hands on the ball off the inbounds pass and got a clean look from distance, but his game-tying 3-point attempt missed the mark.
Now, after facing two of the Patriot League’s top teams, BU will conclude its first go-around against conference opponents when it travels to the United States Military Academy this Wednesday.
Jackie is a sports reporter for The Daily Free Press and has previously served as Managing Editor and Associate Sports Editor of the FreeP. At this moment, she's probably watching Shark Tank and thinking of ways to work, "and for that reason, I'm out," into casual conversations. Please send all inquiries in the form of a box combo from Cane's with no coleslaw and extra fries or follow her on Twitter at @jackie_bam
