Men's Basketball Falls At Holy Cross In Season Opener
November 22, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Trailing, 27-24, at the half, B. U. (0-1) went on a 14-3 run to open the second half, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from senior guard Matt Turner (West Haven, Conn.) to give the Terriers their largest lead of the game at 38-30 with 12:51 remaining.
The Terriers took a 42-35 lead with 10:20 to go on a pair of free throws by junior guard Chaz Carr (Manchester, Conn.), but Holy Cross (1-0) embarked on a 16-2 run over the next 3:42, capped by a Thomas three-pointer to make the score 51-44 in favor of the Crusaders.
Another Thomas trey gave Holy Cross a 55-47 lead with 4:20 on the clock, but B. U. made its stand, holding the Crusaders to just four points the rest of the way, and slowing cutting into the lead.
Layups by Carr and senior forward Jason Grochowalski (Shrewsbury, Mass.) cut the lead to 55-51 with 2:15 left, and strong denial defense led to a five-second count that gave the ball back to the Terriers under their own basket.
Senior forward Ryan Butt (Lancaster, Pa.) would win a scramble in the paint and hit a tough layup while getting fouled. The ensuing free throw cut the Holy Cross lead to one point at 55-54.
After a missed Crusader three-pointer, Carr found the range for the Terriers at the other end, draining a top-of-the-key three-pointer to give B. U. a 57-55 advantage with just under one minute remaining.
A layup by senior guard Jave Meade with 39 seconds to go tied the score, and the Terriers turned the ball over at their end to set up a final Crusaders' possession, which turned into a pair of Meade free throws with five seconds left after sophomore guard Shaun Wynn (Brooklyn, N. Y.) was called for a reaching foul when Meade momentarily lost control of the ball near midcourt.
Trailing by two points with no timeouts remaining, the Terriers rushed the ball up the court and a 25-foot Turner three-pointer as time expired rimmed out.
B. U. trailed by as many as nine points on two different occasions in the first half, but trimmed that to two points on a Grochowalski layup in the final seconds of the half.
Butt led the Terrier offensive effort with 12 points. Carr and junior forward Rashad Bell (Queens, N. Y.) both had 11-point games. Bell also contributed with a game-high seven rebounds. Wynn had a career-high six rebounds tied his career highs with six points and four assists.
Both Hurley and Thomas scored 18 points for Holy Cross, with Hurley going 8-for-9 from the field and Thomas hitting on six of his seven shots. Meade joined the pair in double figures with 10 points. As a team, the Crusaders shot an impressive 51.2 percent from the field.
B. U. shot only 40 percent, but outrebounded Holy Cross, 34-22. The Terriers made 13-of-16 from the free throw line, compared to just 14-of-26 for the Crusaders.
B. U. opens its home schedule with a Nov. 25th date with All-America candidate Jameer Nelson and the No. 13 Saint Joseph's University Hawks at Case Gym. Game time is 7 p.m.
