As a conceptually pleasing end to the regular season, the Boston University men’s basketball finished just as they started the 2008-09 campaign ‘-‘- overtime at Agganis Arena. In the season opener against George Washington University, BU was unable to keep pace in the extra session, but Sunday afternoon, the Terriers outscored the University of Hartford, 11-1, in the bonus five minutes to put a cap on the team’s first winning season since 2004-05.
The Terriers’ 67-57 victory on Senior Day wasn’t pretty (especially given the fact that the Hawks have the worst record in the conference and have now lost 14 games in a row), but the veteran group was able to avoid a second-half collapse and win its fourth overtime contest this year.
Junior guard Corey Lowe scored a game-high 20 points (which was matched by Hartford’s Morgan Sabia), and turned in his second-consecutive encouraging performance after suffering through one of the worst shooting spells in his career.
Sophomore forward John Holland, who was relatively dormant all afternoon, sank a pair of free throws with six seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 56, and Lowe scored 11 of his 20 in the final seven minutes of regulation and overtime. Despite Lowe’s efforts, the Terriers (17-12, 11-5 America East) were complacent after amassing a double-digit first-half lead, and never appeared to return to the flow of the game.
‘I clearly thought Hartford deserved to win the game,’ BU coach Dennis Wolff said. ‘We got up 37-16 and acted like it was over. We’re lucky that we have some talented kids that made some plays at the end of the game.’
‘I’ve got to give BU credit. As I just told my team, feeling like you deserved to win because you played hard, that’s not a reality. That’s not a way life works,’ Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz said. ‘I’m proud of the effort that we put on the floor. Given the fact that we’ve faced a losing streak like we have, it’s easy for certain guys on certain teams to cash in, and I think you just saw that we haven’t.’
Four minutes into the game, senior forward Matt Wolff took a blow to the jaw fighting for a loose ball. He remained in the game for three more minutes but was taken out and didn’t return to the bench in the second half.
BU coach Dennis Wolff said after the game that Matt suffered a severe concussion, but said he’s ‘relatively certain’ his son will be ready to play come Saturday. A credit to Wolff’s impact on the offense, however, is that BU appeared more disjointed after his departure from the game.
‘Matt’s contribution to what we do is missed in situations like what were occurring [Sunday],’ Wolff said. ‘He’s out for at least half the week.’
Without Wolff, Sherrod Smith played a season-high 16 minutes, and Valdas Sirutis logged nine minutes in the first half. Dennis Wolff said he planned on getting them playing time regardless in an attempt to give some of the regulars a breather.
If the game was of a greater magnitude, it would be easy to criticize the Terriers for their lack of concentration, especially as Hartford (6-25, 2-14) was in the midst of two 10-0 runs – one to end the first half and another early in the second half – but Wolff said the team had its best practice of the year Saturday, and the events of Sunday afternoon are already behind them.
One thing that can’t happen in order for the Terriers to be successful in the tournament, however, is for Holland to have the type of afternoon he had on Saturday. Although his 13 points and six rebounds aren’t dreadful, he seemed relatively uninvolved in situations in which he normally shines.
‘What disappoints me is we need to be more disciplined at some of our positions. As talented as John is, and he made the two foul shots, I couldn’t explain to you what he was doing for a lot of the second half,’ Wolff said. ‘He’s an extremely talented kid when his motor’s going, and he’s playing with a lot of energy and he’s locked in. [Sunday] he wasn’t.’
Regardless of Sunday’s energy levels, the Terriers will no doubt need to summon far more vigor next weekend when they enter the conference tournament on a winning streak for the first time in three seasons.
‘I think what you have to do is we have to get mentally rested and in the right frame of mind to try and play a good game against UMBC, who we beat twice but who could’ve beaten us at least one of the times,’ Wolff said.
Game Notes: Hartford’s 12 3-pointers tie the mark for the most given up by BU this season (at Cornell, Dec. 29). ‘hellip; Jake O’Brien didn’t start for the first time this season because Marques Johnson was awarded the starting spot for Senior Day. O’Brien (12 points, 7 rebounds) later had an impressive right-handed jam over two defenders through contact. ‘hellip; The Terriers are 38-18 all-time against Hartford and have won 13 of the last 16 meetings. ‘hellip; Wolff said after the game, ‘[Senior guard] Sam Tully is one of the nicest kids we’ve ever had here. I was extremely disappointed we couldn’t get him in the game based on the circumstances.’
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