It hadn’t happened this year. It hadn’t happened in nine regular-season Boston University men’s basketball games at Agganis Arena. And after Anthony Raffa pulled the University at Albany to within three of BU with two and half minutes remaining in last night’s game, it looked like a win at BU’s pristine varsity athletic facility might elude the Terriers yet again.
But then, as BU clung to a five-point edge, junior guard Corey Lowe (27 points, 7 assists) ‘-‘- who was double covered and teetering near the BU baseline ‘-‘- heaved the ball to sophomore forward John Holland (25 points, 6 rebounds), who was wide open at center court. Holland snatched the pass, dribbled a few times and wound up for a monster two-hand slam to seal the eventual 77-67 triumph in a pivotal conference matchup.
Thursday’s 10-point margin of victory is the largest any BU men’s basketball team has inflicted on its opponent at Agganis ‘-‘- the previous mark was a six-point spread over the University of Vermont in 2005. And last night’s win came because of a strong team performance that saw the Terriers top their conference scoring average of 74.7 points per game, in spite of playing in the school’s less comfortable home arena.
‘It’s only my second win [at Agganis] in my whole time here,’ Lowe said of the victory.
Sure, Lowe and Holland accounted for 52 of the Terriers’ points, but the oft-criticized senior forward Matt Wolff contributed nine of his own points with three steals and four rebounds. Junior forward Scott Brittain added six rebounds and four blocks. Freshman center Jake O’Brien dropped 10 points.
Compare these solid lines to the team’s four losses, 69 points per game and 38-percent shooting average at Agganis this season before last night’s game, and it’s plain to see just how good an evening Thursday was for the Terriers.
As for the much-discussed Agganis Arena curse? Lowe supposedly killed it when he shot 58 percent on his way to 36 points against Marshall earlier this season, but on Thursday night, it seemed the whole team was ready to bury the discussion.
So, too, was BU coach Dennis Wolff.
‘I didn’t mention [playing at Agganis] one time to the kids today. It’s hard enough preparing to try to beat Albany,’ Wolff said. ‘If I spent a lot of time talking about the ghosts of Agganis instead of what we’re doing against the triangle-and-two, we would have been screwed.’
With the lowering of those ghosts into the ground, the rise of the Terriers’ season continues. BU is now on a seven-game winning rampage and leading the America East by a full game over Binghamton University and Vermont ‘-‘- a team that demolished the Terriers in this season’s previous outing at Agganis. And Wolff is pleased to have avenged that loss, at least to a degree, with last night’s win.’
‘It’s somewhat gratifying, because the last time we sat in this building, people were screaming at me, screaming at my son, leaving us dead in the water,’ Wolff said.
‘And I didn’t think we were dead in the water ‘- I thought we would keep playing.’
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