Terriers Kick Off Five-Game Road Swing With Yale Tuesday
December 7, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2007
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BOSTON - The Boston University men's basketball team hits the road for a month starting Tuesday, Dec. 11 at Yale's John J. Lee Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. when the Terriers (2-6) take on the Bulldogs (2-5) for the first time in 71 years. The last meeting between the two teams was in the 1935-36 season.
Yale leads the series 2-0, with both wins coming in the early 1930s. The Bulldogs pulled out a 42-29 victory during the 1932-33 season and a 36-24 win in 1935-36. No box scores survive, but Yale's probable starting lineup included the 1936 Heisman Trophy winner Larry Kelley.
The Bulldogs' season has looked similar to BU's so far this year. Yale's 71-66 overtime victory against Fairfield stopped a five-game losing streak. The Bulldogs opened with a win over Sacred Heart before losing their next five by an average of 15.6. That string of losses did feature a pair of Pac-10 teams, with Yale losing to Stanford by 11 and UCLA by 34. The Bulldogs have a game against Vermont on Saturday. Yale has three in double figures - Matt Kyle (11.7 ppg), Caleb Holmes (11.3 ppg) and Eric Flato (10.7 ppg). Three players are tied for the team high in rebounds (4.3). The starting line up features four seniors and one junior - two of those seniors are twins Caleb and Nick Holmes.
Sophomore guard Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass.) is BU's leading scorer with 17.5 points per game. Classmates Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine) and Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont.) are the other two Terriers in double figures. Strong has had three-straight 20-plus point games and averages 14.3 ppg. Brittain averages 11.0 ppg and a team-best 6.0 rpg. He is shooting 57.1 percent from the floor (32-for-56) to rank second in the America East.
The 79-72 victory over neighboring rival Harvard on Tuesday snapped a six-game skid for BU. Lowe led all players with 23 points and a career-best 10 points as the Terriers shot 46.0 percent for the game (29-for-63), including a torrid 52.2 percent from the 3-point line (12-for-23). Strong added 22 points and Brittain chipped in a career-best 17 points as well as eight boards.
The Terriers ran out to an 11-6 first-half lead on three 3-pointers from Lowe and Strong and a lay up by Brittain. BU stayed out in front, pushing its lead to 25-19 at 9:36 after Strong went on a personal 11-0 run in the middle of the first. BU went into the break up 44-37 and shooting a season-high 58.1 percent from the floor (18-for-31). Boston University overcame a slow start to the second half that saw Harvard trim BU's lead to two, 50-48, at 15:07 on a lay up by Pat Magnarelli. The Terriers took a 10-point lead, 66-56, on another Brittain lay up with 7:15 to go in the game. Harvard didn't quit, however, and threatened at 1:34 by cutting BU's advantage to five, 77-72, on a Magnarelli lay up. But junior guard Marques Johnson (Hazlet, N.J.) drew a foul and hit both free throws for the final margin.
Yale offers a free web stream of Tuesday's game. Simply click on Yale All-Access in the upper right-hand corner of the Bulldogs' home page.
Boston University takes an 11-day break for exams before going to Delaware on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.
