Boston University
Harvard
Terriers Cruise Past Harvard, 75-59
December 3, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Junior Corey Lowe, sophomore John Holland and freshman Jake O'Brien each made seven field goals to lead the Boston University men's basketball team to a 75-59 victory over crosstown rival Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion on Wednesday night. As a team, the Terriers (4-2) hit a stifling 46.4 percent off 13-of-28 attempts from beyond the arc to extend their winning streak to eight games against the Crimson (3-2).
Leading only by seven at the half, BU used a 22-6 run in the middle of the second stanza to put the game away, as 15th-year head coach Dennis Wolff improves his record to 14-1 against Harvard. The Terriers have now won a series-record eight straight games in a rivalry that dates back to 1904-05. The previous high was seven games, first set by BU between 1993 and 1999. The Crimson still lead the overall series though, 32-27.
The non-conference victory marks the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Terriers will enter the conference portion of the schedule with at least four wins. The last three years, BU only managed to earn three wins each season before facing off against America East opponents.
A week after scoring 27 points against Northeastern, Lowe put on another shooting display against Harvard, hitting 4-of-6 from downtown before finishing with 20 points. O'Brien and Holland scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, with O'Brien grabbing a team-leading and career-high eight rebounds. Junior Tyler Morris was the facilitator, posting six assists with six rebounds.
Harvard's Jeremy Lin entered the game third in the nation averaging 4.0 steals per game but only came away with one swipe, while scoring a team-high 17 points as the only Crimson player to score in double-figures against BU. Evan Harris had nine points, all in the first half, along with eight rebounds.
Both teams went back-and-forth through the first seven minutes of action until Morris nailed a 3-pointer to give BU the lead for good at 18-16 with 12:35 remaining in the first half. The Crimson failed to hit a field goal following Harris' layup at 12:54 until Peter Boehm scored a 3-pointer at 4:25. During that eight-minute stretch though, the Terriers only managed to increase the lead to 29-24, as they committed six turnovers to keep Harvard in the game.
Harris made another layup at 2:07 to cut the deficit to one point, trailing 33-32, but O'Brien responded with a layup and was followed by a Holland 3-pointer. With 10 seconds remaining, Lowe hit his third trey of the half to give BU a 41-34 lead heading into the locker room.
The Terriers posted a torrid 9-of-15 (60 percent) from beyond the arc, which even included a made basket from junior Valdas Sirutis. The forward from Lithuania played a valuable 10 minutes of action in the first stanza off the bench with both senior Matt Wolff and classmate Scott Brittain in foul trouble. He scored his first points of the season and had two rebounds along with one steal.
In the second half, BU cut down on turnovers, only committing four after 11 in the first, while also enticing the Crimson into 12 after Harvard turned it over eight times earlier. The Terriers took advantage of the increased opportunities, with Lowe hitting a jumper to give them their largest lead of the game at 24, then leading 71-47, with 8:17 remaining.
BU finished with a 13-to-2 edge in 3-point baskets and outscored Harvard, 19-6, in points off turnovers while also outrebounding the Crimson, 33-30. Harvard did manage 42 points in the paint against the Terriers' 20 but only scored six second-chance points and two off a fastbreak.
Up next for the Terriers is a return home after concluding the three-game road trip with wins over Northeastern and Harvard and a tough loss against defending Northeast Conference champion Mount St. Mary's. BU will host Conference USA's Marshall, as the Thundering Herd visit the campus for the first time on Saturday (Dec. 6) at 3 p.m. in Agganis Arena.
