The trend of close road losses continued on Saturday night as the Boston University men’s basketball team dropped a 52-49 decision to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa.
Junior forward Jake O’Brien, after a series of below-average performances, responded with a game-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, but it was ultimately not enough as the Terriers (4-5) lost their second straight game and fell back below .500.
For a team that has shot a listless 37 percent for the season, BU continued to struggle from the field against the Bison (4-6), going 20-of-60 on field goal attempts.
“We couldn’t make shots,” said BU coach Pat Chambers. “When you can’t make shots, it becomes very difficult. You start to grind a little bit, and that basket becomes very tiny.”
Senior forward John Holland added 11 points and a game-high six assists, but the Preseason All-America East Conference selection was plagued by a cold shooting day, missing 13 of his 17 field goal attempts.
“I thought he got some open looks for some shots that he normally makes, but they just didn’t go down,” Chambers said.
Despite the Terriers’ poor shooting day, the game remained very close throughout with BU even holding a lead that got as high as 10 points for much of the contest.
The score was tied at 47 with less than two minutes remaining when Bucknell, coming off a timeout, got a 3-pointer from guard G.W. Boon, a shot Chambers described as “a dagger,” to give the Bison a lead they would not forfeit from there on out.
Freshman forward Dom Morris pulled the Terriers closer with a layup from a Holland pass with a little over a minute remaining, and BU got the ball back with a chance to win the game after a steal from junior guard Matt Griffin with 28 seconds left.
However, Holland missed a jumper, and O’Brien was stripped by Bucknell center Mike Muscala after collecting the offensive rebound. Guard Darryl Shazier added two free throws to give the Bison a 52-49 lead with 11 seconds left.
Griffin then came down the court and missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, and Bucknell collected the rebound to preserve the tight win.
Many of the things that an inexperienced Terriers team has struggled with thus far – namely, making shots and winning close road games – culminated against the Bison, a team that BU has defeated each of the past two seasons, including a 63-53 win at Agganis Arena last year.
“We’ve got to learn how to finish games out,” Chambers said. “We’ve got to learn how to play on the road, to just know that when the shots are not falling, that there’s other things we can do.”
Despite the loss and the obvious poor shooting, the Terriers continued to clamp down on opponents defensively, only giving up 52 points to the Bison on 31-percent shooting. Excluding a loss against a young, explosive No. 11 University of Kentucky team, BU has held teams to 51.6 points-per-game in its last five contests.
The Terriers received a good performance from O’Brien who had only been averaging 6.6 points-per-game in the team’s last five games while shooting only 36 percent from the field while battling a stomach flu that has also plagued other members of the team including Holland.
Additionally, Morris continued to build on what has been an impressive freshman year thus far, scoring 10 points in addition to three rebounds.
“If he can continue on that path and continues to get better, we’ve got a special talent,” Chambers said. “He’s the greatest kid and he wants to be good and he wants to work hard and he cares. He’s going to have a great career here.”
Even though the Terriers have struggled shooting the ball and putting up points for much of the season, Chambers remains optimistic going forward as his team of seven freshmen, three transfers and three returning players continues to become a more cohesive unit.
“It’s all going to come together,” Chambers said. “We’re going to have one of those games where everyone’s going to be making shots. We’re close, but we’re just not there yet. When it happens, it’s going to be a lot of fun to see this team develop.”
The Terriers will look to rebound from the loss as they take on La Salle University at Agganis Arena on Thursday.
Not only will it be a big game symbolically for junior guard Darryl Partin, who played two seasons for the Explorers, but it will also be a critical litmus test for this BU team as it looks to improve on its glaring weaknesses that have contributed to a disappointing start for a team picked to win America East.
“Our team’s very resilient,” Chambers said. “When we have a couple of tough losses, we usually bounce back and come in with a great attitude. We want to get better, we can’t wait to get back to work, we can’t hang our heads and that’s what our captains and guys like John Holland need to do. They’ve got to come out ready to play with great energy and not be happy with where we are; 4-5 is not acceptable right now.”
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