Stanford and St. Joseph’s are getting all the national press for their undefeated seasons.
But the Boston University men’s basketball team may deserve a little more, after withstanding a second-half charge at Alfond Arena Wednesday night on the way to defeating the University of Maine, 64-53, to win its ninth straight and – amazingly – 20th of its last 21.
The Black Bears closed a 19-point Terrier lead to just three with less than five minutes to play on a Kevin Reed three-pointer, but BU’s foul shooting and gritty defense down the stretch buoyed them to victory. BU outscored Maine 13-5 in the final 4:35 to preserve the victory.
After senior guard Matt Turner’s three-pointer gave BU a 9-8 lead with 12:33 left in the first half, the Terrier offense took over. In the waning stages of the first frame, the Terriers (20-4, 14-1 America East) opened an 11-point advantage on a Shaun Wynn three-pointer, then gained a 34-18 edge on senior forward Jason Grochowalski’s three-pointer. The visitors entered the break with a comfortable 37-22 gap.
Unlike the first meeting of the season between the two schools, when he drained 20 points in the first half, BU kept Maine forward Mark Flavin in check, holding the senior big man to nine points and nine rebounds for the game. Flavin battled foul trouble throughout, spending considerable time on the bench for the Black Bears (16-8, 10-5).
The Terriers had foul difficulties of their own, as senior forward Ryan Butt picked up two quick ones in the first 10 minutes. Sophomore Kevin Gardner stepped in to fill the void in the middle, scoring seven points and grabbing eight rebounds while swatting away five shots.
The second half began much the way the first one ended, as BU opened its biggest lead of the game at 45-26 with 17:42 to play. But a Chris Markwood three-pointer cut it to 47-32, and with Flavin back in the game with less than 15 minutes left, Maine began to crawl back into the contest.
With the score 50-37 and 11:38 left, Flavin’s three-pointer cut the BU lead to 10. A Reed three with 9:15 to play cut it to seven, and after a Terrier free throw, Reed nailed a second trey to make it a five-point game. A Dobson layup brought things to 51-48, but Maine would get no closer.
Wynn’s layup pushed it back to seven with 2:38 left, and after a pair of Maine free throws, a Chaz Carr basket made it 57-50 at the two-minute mark. Carr’s foul shots gave BU a nine-point lead with 1:39 remaining, and though Freddy Petkus hit a three-pointer for Maine with 51.3 seconds left, BU had already sealed the victory.
Wynn led all scorers with 13 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Rashad Bell tallied 12 with six boards. After his 25-point outburst against the University of Vermont, Carr chipped in with a hard-fought 11 points.
Reed paced Maine with 12 points, while Dobson – who played his final home game Wednesday on senior night – was the only other Black Bear in double figures with 10.
The win keeps the Terriers a half-game ahead of Vermont for first place in the America East, as the Catamounts defeated the University of Hartford Wednesday night, 47-45. The win also made this the third straight season BU has won 20 or more games.
BU’s schedule gets no easier when Northeastern University comes to Case Gymnasium Sunday. The Huskies (17-9, 11-4) sit in third place in the conference and lead the league in scoring, averaging 75.6 points per game.