Despite a new coach and new system for the Boston University men’s basketball team, Wednesday’s Beantown debut against George Washington University yielded another loss.
For the third time in their last five matchups ‘-‘- all in the past five seasons ‘-‘- the Terriers faced the Colonials in their home opener. Last season, BU shot 29.7 percent in a game that saw a combined 40 turnovers in an overtime loss.
This year, there were very similar numbers with a much different result. The Terriers shot 30.6, as both teams turned the ball over 38 times, yet the Colonials only trailed twice and topped the hosts by 10.
BU coach Patrick Chambers promised an up-tempo offense, which was on full display against the Colonials for an excited home crowd of over 2,100 at Agganis Arena.
Unfortunately for BU, the run-and-gun was shooting blanks.
In the first half alone, the Terriers were smothered by the GW full-court press, giving up 11 turnovers and shooting a paltry 2-for-16 behind the arc. Even seniors Valdas Sirutis and Sherrod Smith got in on the fun, but none of their shots fell either.
Down six at the half after a late 3-pointer, something clearly had to be changed.
‘We wanted to get to the foul line, break their momentum and slow the game down a little bit because they were pressing the whole time,’ Chambers said. ‘If you do that, it kind of breaks the groove of the game. We’re always looking to try to get to the foul line. We got there 25 times, so we’re making progress in that area.’
So BU went to the paint, setting up drives for lay-ins and floating jumpers, relentlessly putting pressure on the rim, drawing fouls and chipping away at GW’s lead.
The Terriers appeared to turn a corner when senior captain Corey Lowe hit a jumper, capping a 6-0 run, with just under six minutes left and getting the crowd back into the game.
Ironically, the frenetically paced match-up was ultimately decided calmly at the free throw line.
After a steal by senior captain Tyler Morris, co-captain classmate Carlos Strong went to the charity stripe with 5:10 to go. Strong missed both freebies, and it took until 3:03 until they scored again on junior John Holland’s layup. By that time, they sat 10 points behind and soon began to foul.
Holland’s 3-point shot with 1:39 left brought it again to double-possession and elicited a roar from the hungry crowd, but it was too little, too late. The Colonials coolly made their shots from the line, with six players shooting over 60 percent. BU never came within five.
Still, Holland insists the players are adapting, if slowly, to Chambers’ ball.
‘It’s new, but we just have to get better,’ Holland said. ‘We’re learning, and that’ll come with time. As the season progresses, I think we’ll get better with everything we’re trying to do.’
The balance of the Terriers’ attack also needs work. Take away the bread-and-butter of Holland and Lowe, and BU shot 5-for-30, including a dismal 25 percent from the line. But Chambers is confident that his team can get it together in time for the stretch run.
‘We got some very good looks, open shots, but we just didn’t make them,’ Chambers said. ‘This team is going to be tough to beat when we’re rolling on all cylinders. We’ve got some weapons out there when we go four guards and sophomore Jake O’Brien. It’s going to be tough to stop us when we start making some shots.’
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