Four Terriers scored in double figures and Joakim Eriksson bobbled the ball as time expired to give the Boston University men’s basketball team a 64-62 victory over the State University of New York at Stony Brook Thursday night at the SBU Sports Complex.
BU (18-9, 12-3 America East) got all it could handle with the Seawolves in the first 20 minutes, trailing 33-25 at the break. Stony Brook ended the half on a 10-5 run, holding BU to 38 percent shooting. Mike Konopka scored 10 of his 16 points and JonPaul Kobryn scored eight points in the first frame, while the Seawolves made 14-of-25 shots from the floor, a 56 percent clip.
The second half was another story, as BU slowly chipped away at the Stony Brook (5-21, 4-11) lead. Sophomore forward Paul Seymour made a three-pointer with 3:56 remaining to give the Terriers a 58-56 lead, an advantage BU would not relinquish.
Freshman forward Chaz Carr quelled Stony Brook’s hopes with 42 seconds left, as he made a layup for two of his 13 points in the game to make it 64-60. Konopka hit a shot at the other end to bring the Seawolves within two, and after a Carr miss, the stage was set for a climactic finish.
Stony Brook was successful in fouling BU twice and was in position to inbound the ball under its own hoop with 1.5 seconds left. Patrick Spitler hit Eriksson with a pass, but Eriksson bobbled the ball as time ran out, giving BU the 64-62 win.
Sophomore forward Jason Grochowalski and Carr led BU with 13 points apiece, and freshman forward Rashad Bell and junior forward Billy Collins each scored 10. Collins also had a game-high seven rebounds.
Konopka led Stony Brook with 16 points and Dawud Munir had 15 points and eight assists. It was Munir’s third-straight game with at least seven assists.
With the win, BU takes a half-game lead in the conference over the University of Vermont (18-7, 11-3). The Catamounts play at the University of New Hampshire tonight. If BU and Vermont tie atop the America East, Vermont would garner the No.1 seed in the conference tournament by virtue of beating the Terriers twice this season.
BU finishes the regular season Sunday afternoon at Case Gymnasium against the University of Maine.
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