There was one aspect about the Boston University men’s basketball team’s 62-49 win over Stony Brook University that made it different from every other game that the Terriers have played so far this season.
It isn’t the fact that the Terriers (12-13, 7-4 America East) fended off a vicious comeback attempt by the Seawolves (9-13, 4-6 AE) that cut the lead to five with 5:29 remaining.
It isn’t the fact that they shot a pretty 44.9 percent from the field when they average 39.4 percent on the year.
It isn’t even the fact that they crushed their opponents in the battle of the boards, 39-29.
No, the most unique aspect about the game was that the Terriers earned their first comfortable road victory of the year and proved their ability to defeat teams on their home courts.
“It’s a great environment at Stony Brook,” BU coach Patrick Chambers said. “The place was packed. For us to dig in and grind one out was great for these kids. Everybody knows our road record. For them to fight through, especially when [Stony Brook] cut [the deficit] to five, it shows you that we’re headed in the right direction.”
Prior to Friday night, the Terriers boasted only a 1-4 conference road record compared to their stellar 5-0 home posting. Now they can point to a specific game that shows off their ability to beat teams on their home court from start to finish.
When all was said and done, junior forward Darryl Partin had poured in 19 points to lead all scorers. Senior forward John Holland had 17, and junior forward Patrick Hazel contributed 12 on 6-of-8 shooting.
Although the Terriers started off slowly, their stellar defense kept the Seawolves from developing any substantial lead. BU shot 4-of-17 to start the contest, but SBU never led by more than two. With 6:22 remaining in the half, the Terriers stole the lead for good on a trey by senior guard Matt Griffin.
Following a Holland jumper at 15:19, Hazel dunked the ball with 3:50 left in the half for his second basket of the game and a five-point lead. SBU kept it close, however, ending the half only behind 24-22.
“When it comes to Pat Hazel, it’s all about confidence,” Chambers said. “When he’s playing with great confidence, he’s one of the best bigs in this league. He played with great confidence [on Friday] night.
“He got rebounds. He was 6-of-8 from the floor. He made a huge post move at a critical point. He had a big dunk at a critical point. He keeps getting better every single day, and that’s what we need from him.”
The Terriers opened the second half with a 20-7 run to secure a 44-29 lead with 12:32 remaining. Hazel ended the run with another thunderous dunk that all but put the game out of reach for the Seawolves.
SBU fought back, cutting the deficit to five with 5:20 remaining following two free throws from junior forward Bryan Dougher. Dougher had carried his team on his back throughout the game, scoring 15 of his 17 total points by the 5:29 mark and breaking a SBU record for career 3-pointers at the 8:37 mark of the first half.
“He’s a terrific player,” Chambers said. “Last year he dropped 30 on us in our own gym. We knew what he was going to bring to the game, and we just tried to slow him down, make him uncomfortable, and make sure he doesn’t get in-rhythm shots.”
The Terriers ended the game on a 12-4 run to move closer to catching conference leaders University of Vermont and University of Maine. With key wins over Maine on Feb. 2 and now Stony Brook on the road, the Terriers look poised to go on a run similar to the four-game win streak that propelled the 2009-2010 Terriers into the postseason.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” said Chambers. “This is a little bit of a younger team. You’re dealing with seniors last year, and we had three great [juniors] in John, Jake and Jeff. But, we’re just a little bit younger. We have a lot more to grow. I really think we’re just scratching the surface.
“We could get a heck of a lot better, and we’ve got to get healthier too. It will be nice to have [freshman forward] Travis Robinson back. And once we have a steady full team, although we won’t have [junior forward] Jake [O’Brien], it will be nice to see us clicking on all cylinders.”
Both of BU’s wins over the Seawolves this season have come as a result of excellent defense against an excellent defensive team. The Terriers out-rebounded the Seawolves, the top rebounding team in the conference, in both games this year.
“It may look like [we won the battle of the boards] handily, but it was difficult, trust me,” he said. “I was really proud of our bigs. They did a great job, especially [freshman forward] Dominic Morris, having eight rebounds, and Patrick [Hazel] having six, and of course John and all the guards chipping in with what they normally give us. It was a good night. We really focused on rebounding the basketball, and we tried to pursue them to the long ones.”
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