KINGSTON, R.I. – Right after the Boston University men’s basketball team’s 63-62 loss to Cleveland State University Friday, senior forward Patrick Hazel sent coach Joe Jones an encouraging text message.
He told his new bench boss that they had to be ready to face University of Rhode Island and Hofstra University and couldn’t hang their heads with a chance to win the remaining two games in the sub-regional round of the TicketCity Legends Classic.
“That said it all,” Jones said.
Seniors Matt Griffin, Darryl Partin, Jeff Pelage and Hazel made Jones’ job a lot easier following the heartbreaking loss to the Vikings by leading by example and maintaining a positive attitude during the team meeting. Heeding its upperclassmen’s model behavior, BU (2-4) responded valiantly in comeback fashion at the Ryan Center, beating URI (1-5), 70-64, on Saturday and downing Hofstra (3-4), 68-61, on Sunday.
“I was proud of the way our guys battled,” Jones said. “Three games in three days is tough, but I was very impressed by the way our team battled back this weekend.”
Trailing by 11 points with less than 15 minutes to play, the Terriers faced an uphill climb against the Rams, who were playing on their home floor. Consecutive layups from sophomore guard D.J. Irving and Partin trimmed the deficit to 47-46 at the 9:13 mark, but turnovers derailed BU’s momentum and Rhode Island pushed its advantage back up to five points.
Partin’s 3-pointer and foul shot cut URI’s cushion to 51-50 with 9:36 remaining. On the Rams’ next offensive possession, Hazel countered with a help-side block that triggered a fast break and led to a long Irving jumper that gave the Terriers a lead it would not surrender for the remainder of the contest.
Just one day after shooting an abysmal 63.6 percent from the free-throw line in its loss to Cleveland State (6-1), including 12 misses in the second half alone, BU converted 6-of-8 freebies down the stretch to preserve the 70-64 victory and earn its first win of the Joe Jones era.
Irving had a career-high 21 points and added eight assists, Partin contributed 20 points, and Hazel compiled 14 points and a team-high eight boards.
Sophomore forward Travis Robinson, who started in place of Griffin for the second-straight game, tallied a career-high 10 points in 16 minutes during the win.
On Sunday against the Pride, BU embarked on another furious second-half rally after being down 33-31 at halftime.
Channeling his inner John Holland – a former Terrier – Partin netted 18 consecutive Terrier points during an eight-minute span and knocked down four consecutive 3-pointers to knot the game at 45 with 13:01 to go.
BU endured a four-minute scoring drought after Partin’s last triple, and Hofstra took full advantage of it, extending its edge to seven at one juncture.
But it was Irving once again who put the Terriers ahead for good with a jumper from the free-throw line with less than three minutes to play. Freebies from Griffin, Irving, Hazel and Partin in the final 2:45 closed out Hofstra and awarded BU its second win of the 2011-12 campaign.
A balanced offense and stout defense paved the way for the Terriers in both its wins.
“We did a good job of playing together, sharing the ball,” Jones said. “In the last two games, we’ve really started to share the ball around. On the defensive end, we’re playing together and getting stops.”
Hazel continued his impressive season, posting his first-career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Pride, while Irving scored 15 points to go along with two boards and three assists.
“D.J. made a bunch of shots, didn’t give the ball away,” Jones said. “He made a ton of plays down the stretch and so did Pat. It was really a team effort.”
Role players, such as Robinson and Griffin, who combined for 25 total points in limited minutes over the weekend, provided key contributions for Jones’ squad.
“To be a great team, you have to have guys that are role players that can come in and do some things to help you win,” Jones said. “Those guys are willing to do the little things that are going to help the team be successful. Every great team has that. We have a lot of guys who are like that.”
Jones said his team will revel in its victories over URI and Hofstra, but then turn its focus toward its Wednesday opponent, University of Delaware.
“I want to make sure we’re well rested,” Jones said. “We have to make sure we’re ready. We have to have a level of maturity to help compensate for a short week. Right now, I want the guys to enjoy these wins, and then we’ll prepare for Delaware.”
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