The Boston University men’s basketball team’s lack of depth finally showed Sunday afternoon in the form of an 80-59 loss to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
After falling into foul trouble, BU (17-12, 10-6 Patriot League) struggled to find consistency in its lineup, and the Bison (15-12, 12-4 Patriot League) took full advantage down the stretch, ending the Terriers’ seven-game winning streak. The Terriers now fall to third place in the Patriot League behind Bucknell and Lehigh University.
Bucknell had four players reach double digits, and senior Chris Hass’s 21-point performance led the way on his senior day. For BU, senior guard John Papale was the only Terrier to break into double figures, as he finished with 11 points.
“Tonight, I don’t think we played our best,” said BU head coach Joe Jones. “We didn’t handle the adversity of this game well. I think the magnitude of the game kind of impacted how we handled some of the adversity because we knew it was a big game, and … what we have to be able to do is stick with it.”
Jones was forced to dig into his thin bench early, as sophomore forward Nick Havener, junior forward Dylan Haines, junior center Blaise Mbargorba, junior guard Eric Fanning and sophomore guard Cheddi Mosely all racked up multiple fouls in the first half.
“The fouls definitely impacted the rotations,” Jones said. “We don’t have a lot of leeway as it is. There’s not a lot of room for error, so if one guy gets in foul trouble, we’re in tough shape. We’re trying to play guys with two fouls in the first half, and they’re trying hard not to play so aggressively.”
BU started the game confidently, going back and forth with the Bison, and held a three-point lead 13:39 into the contest.
“Early on, I thought we were fine,” Jones said. “We were kind of stringing along some stops, and they turned it over. Our defense has been much better. I was pleased with the defensive effort.”
However, foul trouble soon caught up to the Terriers on the offensive end, as driving players like Fanning couldn’t run at the rim with the same kind of intensity. BU failed to score in the final 3:41 of the first half, and Bucknell found a rhythm in transition, ending the frame on a 9-0 run to take a 36-27 lead into the break.
Though the Terriers cut Bucknell’s lead to eight 17:16 into the second half, the Bison dictated the tempo of the game because of BU’s inability to aggressively attack the basket without getting more fouls.
“We just couldn’t capitalize,” Jones said. “We could never find a rhythm. I thought we missed shots that we normally make, and we could never get into a consistent groove where we were scoring three or four possessions in a row. We could never get going that way.”
BU’s offensive struggles paved the way for Bucknell’s transition offense to take over. The Bison scored 25 points on BU’s 15 turnovers to go along with 12 fast break points. Bucknell, the league’s top scoring offense, shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and went 8-of 13 from behind the arc.
Jones acknowledged that foul trouble becomes fickle in light of BU’s lack of depth, but he stressed the need for his team to stay the course.
“It’s basketball,” Jones said. “We played seven games and [foul trouble] wasn’t an issue. I didn’t think going into the game we were going to foul them a ton, and tonight, we got in foul trouble. They attacked us. They posted on us and drove it on us and that kind of went against us, but I don’t think you can’t let one game change the way you’re doing things.”
Now, BU has two contests at home against the United States Military Academy and the College of the Holy Cross to regroup before the Patriot League Tournament.
“I think we’ve just got to stay together,” Jones said. “We’ve got to stay together and stay the course and continue to do the things that put us onto winning ways. That’s been playing hard and playing together.”
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
