NEW YORK--Boston
University (3-6) will send 2006 out in style, with the Terriers making their first-ever appearance in
Madison
Square
Garden when they join
St. John's,
St. Joseph's and Hofstra in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival on Dec. 28-29.
BU faces St. John's, the two-time defending tournament champion, on Dec. 28 at 8:30 p.m. The Terriers will then play either St. Joseph's or Hofstra on Dec. 28 at either 6:30 or 8:30 p.m.
The Terriers' participation in the tournament marks the first time in program history BU has appeared in the Garden as well as the Terriers' first appearance in the Holiday Festival. BU has an 0-2 record against St. John's, and an 0-4 mark against St. Joseph's and is 10-11 against Hofstra. The Red Storm and the Terriers first met in the 1924-25 season when St. John's won 29-18. The two teams' last meeting was on March 19, 2003 in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) when the Red Storm took home a narrow 62-57 victory.
BU's first meeting with St. Joseph's was on Feb. 25, 1983. SJU pulled out a 78-77 win in Case Gym. Most recently, the Terriers fell 55-39 to the Hawks on Hawk Hill on Nov. 27, 2006. BU and Hofstra are more familiar with one another, as Hofstra is a former league foe. Up until 2001-02, the two teams met regularly in conference action. They met first on Dec. 29, 1966 when HU won by 20, 89-69. The Terriers and the Pride have met three times on neutral courts, with the Pride holding a 2-1 edge in those meetings.
The Terriers have a 25-39 overall record in 30 holiday tournaments since the 1956-57 season. BU has appeared in several tournaments twice - the Albright Invitational, the Lobo Classic, the Far West Classic, and the Cable Car Classic. The Terriers have won one holiday tourney, the Christmas Shootout at Tampa, Fla. on Dec. 27-28, 1996. BU has faced Hofstra, a current tournament opponent, twice before in holiday tournaments. The Pride beat the Terriers 89-69 in the 1966 Albright Invitational, and BU exacted a measure of revenge in the Shootout Spokane in 1990 when the Terriers earned a 71-70 overtime victory.
Boston
University ended a 15-day holiday break with a 65-51 loss at the
University of
Rhode Island (7-5) in
Kingston,
R.I. on Friday, Dec. 22.
Red-shirt freshman Tyler Morris' (Indianapolis, Ind.) 25 points were a career and game high. He also had a career-best five steals and went 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Senior Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands), in his first start of the season, totaled ten points and eight rebounds. Joe Mbang scored a game-best 15 points for URI.
Boston University got off to a slow start, with URI taking a 13-2 lead six minutes into the game. BU fought back to within one, 22-21 at 5:15, but the Rams went on a 10-4 run to end the first half. BU was down just eight points, 57-49 with 4:27 left in the game, after a pair of Morris free throws, but URI went on an 8-2 run to close out the win.
To learn more about tickets, please visit the Madison Square Garden Box Office:
4 Pennsylvania Plaza
New York, NY 10001
or call TicketMaster (212) 307-7171.
Students can receive a discount by walking up to the Madison Square Garden box office on the day of the game with a student ID. Student rates are not available online.
BU returns home on Jan. 3 to host the Crusaders of Holy Cross at Case Gym at 7 p.m. The game will be televised locally on CN8.
