MEYER: Righting the ship

With each and every college basketball season comes the long and often strenuous path that a team embarks on at the beginning of the year. Within every schedule are trials and tribulations, and how a team responds to this adversity typically defines its season.’

To say the least, the BU men’s basketball team has had its ups and downs this year. It has seemed as though every bit of success that the squad has had so far has been matched with painful losses and numerous setbacks. To put it eloquently, things have been consistently inconsistent for Terrier hoops this year.

Coming into the season, BU was picked to finish at the top of America East. Corey Lowe was coming off a season in which he made First Team All-Conference, and John Holland was the reigning America East Rookie of the Year. The bar was set high for the team, and the 100th season of Terrier basketball looked to be fielding one of the more promising teams in the history of the program, especially after a solid start to the season.’ ‘

However, the team started dropping several contests, which left many people scratching their heads, wondering how such a talented group of players could be struggling so much. How could a team that nearly upset a top-15 team in Notre Dame on the road turn around and get drubbed by 30 against Cornell?’

In the midst of a five-game losing streak, people began writing BU off, saying they were an underachieving bunch who couldn’t live up to the hype and handle the weight of lofty expectations. What could have been the proverbial knockout punch at the time came in the form of season-ending injuries to both Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong. The team was left for dead, with its preseason accolades nothing more than a mere memory.

But when a team’s back is pressed against the wall, when it is thrust forward as the underdog, great things can happen. When the situations are most dire, the way that a team responds to the obstacles that lay before it is the truest judge of character for a basketball team, or any other team for that matter.’

After going on that five-game skid and losing two of its most important players in the process, it would have been very easy and understandable for BU to wilt. But yet, it hasn’t happened. In fact, it’s been quite the opposite.’

The Terriers are currently on a four-game win streak and have won five of their past six, all of which were in conference play. Morris’ and Strong’s absences have given BU coach Dennis Wolff a shallower bench, and BU has played its past few games using only seven or eight players for the entirety of the game.’

So how has an under-manned team been able to reel off so many consecutive wins? If anything, the smaller rotation and extended minutes for the starters have galvanized the team in a way that had not been seen for much of the season. Each and every player has been called upon to step up his play and production, and so far, not a single player has faltered at the task, including those coming off of the bench.’

These past few weeks have not only been a test of the BU hoopsters’ talent and ability to win games, but also of their heart and tenacity. Nowhere was this more evident than in hard-earned, overtime wins against UMBC (two OTs) and Stony Brook (a four-OT classic in which Holland played all 60 minutes), games that took place within only a few days of each other.

However, it was the Terriers’ most recent victory over Maine that can be seen as the moment that the season was validated, and possibly serve as an anecdote of how everything has transpired this year. Things got off to a slow start and Maine jumped out to an early 27-9 lead. But just like shrugging off the aforementioned five-game losing streak, BU refused to throw in the towel.’

The Terriers fought back and went into halftime down a mere seven points, and then threw down the gauntlet, outscoring the Black Bears, 42-24, in the second half en route to a 73-62 win. The early deficit and subsequent comeback required that every Terrier player contribute in any way they could, and the game results indicate just that.’

Jake O’Brien netted a career-high 24 points, showing us all why he will be a dependable force both down low and behind the arc for the next few years. Holland turned in another nice day in a string of many, scoring 23 and hitting a barrage of 3s that eventually gave BU the lead for good. Perhaps most importantly, praise should be given to Lowe. His 15 points may not dazzle the casual fan, but his game-high nine assists helped fuel the Terrier offense. And in that game, he became BU’s career assist leader with 205 ‘-‘- as a junior.

There are still a good amount of games left to be played, all within the conference, before the all-important America East Tournament in early March. If the Maine game was indeed a microcosm of the season, let’s all hope it has the same happy ending.