The Boston University men’s basketball team’s best season in three years came to an end March 3, as the Terriers lost in overtime, 87-83, to the University of Maine in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament at the University of Delaware.
BU finished the year with a 14-14 overall record and went 9-9 in the conference, a tremendous improvement from its seven-win season last year and nine-win season the year before.
Last Saturday’s contest was the third meeting of the season between the Black Bears and the Terriers, who met for the second time at The Roof just six days before, a game that BU won, 76-74.
The Terriers took both regular season meetings, and their quarterfinal match as proof of just how difficult it is to beat a team three times in one season.
BU was led by an outstanding individual performance by sophomore guard Matt Turner, who tallied a game-high 35 points against Maine, 21 of which came from behind the three-point arc. Turner, who was BU’s premier offensive threat in the closing weeks of the season, was just one point away from tying his career high, set this season in a 96-59 win against Towson University Feb. 8.
Turner led the Terriers’ charge against the Black Bears with 27 points in the second half, but it was only enough to carry BU into overtime.
Leading by just three points with 5:02 left in the second, Maine came alive with a seven-point run to put the Black Bears up 60-50 with only 2:21 remaining in the game.
The Terriers’ hopes of continuing their playoff run looked bleak until Turner — who else? — stepped up and hit four three-pointers in the final 1:17 of play to cap a 16-6 BU run that knotted the game at 66.
Turner’s explosion gave BU new life in overtime, but it couldn’t escape foul trouble in the extra period. Maine hit 12-of-13 shots from the line while BU’s already depleted squad saw freshman forward Jason Grochowalski and junior forwards Ignacio Rodriguez, Jerome Graham and Stijin Dhondt all foul out.
The Black Bears’ 12 free throws in overtime were only part of a larger problem as well, as the Terriers gave up 39 points to Maine from the free-throw line alone.
After two physical battles during the regular season, however, it was only fitting that Maine and BU would fight into overtime in the quarterfinals.
“We knew it would be hard to beat them after we’d already beaten them twice,” Dhondt said. “We played really hard but we just didn’t make as many shots. Both teams fought hard and we’re pretty equal; we knew each other well from previous games.”
Both teams were on fire from deep during the game, as Maine and BU combined to go 20-for-56 from beyond the arc, a new America East playoff record. And Turner set some records of his own — his seven three-pointers tied the conference tournament record and set a new BU record for shots made from distance in a playoff contest.
But records aside, Turner gave BU more than a fighting chance to win, more than any other Terrier on the floor.
“Matt [Turner] has a lot of talent and potential and his offensive skills are excellent,” Dhondt said. “He really played well at the end of the year and he came through in the end for us.”
Turner was BU’s leading scorer in four of its last seven games, a stretch that included the 36-point effort against Towson, his 35 points in last Saturday against Maine and 22 points against the Black Bears on Feb. 25. Arguably the Terriers’ player of the year this season, Turner averaged 17 points per game in BU’s last seven games of the year, including the playoffs.
Nevertheless, BU will have to wait until next season to get another crack at the conference championship that has eluded it since 1997.
“We definitely had a better year than the last two years. We won 14 games and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, and we lost to a good team in the quarterfinals,” Dhondt said. “We had a good record, but we wanted to make it to the conference finals and we didn’t get there yet so I don’t think anyone is satisfied.”
But for Terrier fans looking to the future, consider this: barring transfers and injuries, BU will not lose one single player from this season.
Presumably, the same team will be out next year, along with the same bad taste in its collective mouth from losing in the playoffs.
“We’re going to have a good team next year. We’re the only team in the conference that has no seniors [right now] and we’ll be ready next year,” Dhondt said.
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