Boston University’s men’s basketball put its four-game win streak to the test Saturday afternoon, as it took on Holy Cross for the Turnpike Trophy. Despite a poor showing in the first half, the Terriers defense stepped up in the second half and took down the Crusaders 77-68.
The Holy Cross Crusaders (3-22, 2-10 Patriot League) entered Saturday’s game last in the Patriot League and with a four-game losing streak, while the Terriers (15-10, 9-3 Patriot League) had won seven of their last nine games.
Despite their record, the Crusaders started the game hot, shooting 11-16 from the field and taking a 28-25 lead with 7:52 remaining. The Crusaders kept the lead for the majority of the first half, but the Terriers were able to keep pace, closing the gap to just a one-point deficit at half time, trailing 35-34.
Holy Cross freshman forward Joe Pridgen scored 15 of the Crusaders first-half points, while Boston University junior guard Javante McCoy had 11, including seven of the team’s first 10 points.
Terriers head coach Joe Jones attributed their slow start to a practice they had Friday, the day before the game.
“We had one of our worst practices of the year yesterday,” Jones said. “We looked a lot like we did in the first four minutes of the game — that’s how we looked in practice yesterday. We were just sloppy and out of sorts in practice yesterday.”
McCoy echoed the sentiments of Jones following the game.
“We can’t have those days, because every day matters,” McCoy said. “It kind of made us play a little bit more timid because we didn’t want to make mistakes and let a bad practice be the excuse of how we played today.”
The Crusaders kept it going early out of the locker room, but their offense cooled off significantly, shooting just 40 percent from the floor in the second half as opposed to their about 52 percent in the first half.
A major reason for the Terriers’ success on defense following the first half was their ability to stop Pridgen, who only scored seven points in the second half.
When asked what changed in the second half, Jones said that it was the defensive performance of junior forward Sukhmail Mathon that helped put a stop to Pridgen’s scoring.
“I thought putting [Mathon] on him was the right thing to do,” Jones said. “[Mathon], I thought, did a good job at the start of the second half.”
It was back and forth through the end of the game, but BU took the lead for good with 9:49 left thanks to sophomore guard and forward Fletcher Tynen’s and-one layup, putting the Terriers up 54-53. While Holy Cross remained within striking distance, the Terriers never relinquished their lead ending the game with 77-68 victory.
While eight players got their names on the score sheet for BU, it was McCoy who stood out for the Terriers, dropping a team-high 21 points for the game on 9-14 shooting. In addition to his record, McCoy also scored 20 or more points in three of his last four games
Senior forward Max Mahoney added an additional 17 points, 11 in the second half, as well as seven rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore guard and forward Walter Whyte contributed a double-double putting up 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Pridgen led the way for Holy Cross, scoring a game-high 22 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Senior guard Clayton Le Sann and sophomore forward Blake Verbeek both also finished in double digits, adding 11 points each.
Jones was quick to praise Pridgen after the game.
“A lot of times he looks like he’s just getting layups because he’s quick and explosive,” Jones said. “He’s another level athlete.”
The Terriers are set to battle the Colgate Raiders (19-6, 10-2 Patriot League) 7 p.m. Monday at Case Gymnasium for first place in the Patriot League.
Jones had nothing but praise for Colgate’s players and coaches.
“They’ve got an awfully talented team, they’re well-coached, they know how to win,” Jones said.
“And then obviously they have so much talent, [junior guard] Jordan Burns is terrific, [senior forward] Will Rayman is outstanding. They’re a really, really good team.”
When asked about the upcoming Colgate game, McCoy kept it simple, stating they’ll “be ready Monday.”
