Feb. 28, 2008

Box Score

BOSTON - Behind a career night from freshman guard/forward John Holland (Bronx, N.Y.), the Boston University men's basketball team (13-15, 9-6 America East) defeated Hartford (15-15, 9-6 AE), 97-66, Thursday evening in Case Gym. Holland finished the game with a career-best 38 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.

The first half was all Holland as he scored 19 of the Terriers' 49 first-half points. BU went into the locker room up by 20 points and came out firing in the second, starting the frame on a 17-5 run. The Terriers scored above 90 points for the first time in four years and defeated an opponent by more than 30 points for the first time in three years.

Holland set America East season single-game records for most points in a game and most points in a conference game. He led four players in double figures - sophomore guard Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass.) who had 21, sophomore guard Carlos Strong (Portland, Maine) with 16 and sophomore forward Scott Brittain (Oakville, Ont.) who added 14. Red-shirt junior Matt Wolff (Walpole, Mass.) played excellent defense, cleaned up on the glass with a career-high 11 rebounds and dished out a career-high-tying seven assists. Junior guard Marques Johnson (Hazlet, N.J.) also tied his personal best with seven dimes.

Holland was BU's America East Player of the Game, while Joe Zeglinski led Hartford with 14 points to earn the Hawks' Player of the Game distinction. BU shot 49.2 percent for the game, including 56.3 percent in the first half. The Terriers forced 17 Hawk turnovers and scored 23 points off those miscues. For the third straight game BU dominated in the paint, out-scoring UH 38-24, and the Terriers made a statement on the glass by out-boarding the Hawks, 47-26 - the largest margin of the year.

Six minutes into the second half BU led 66-34 after Strong nailed a three. The Hawks scored just one basket in the first 7:39 of the final frame while the Terriers made their run. BU pushed its advantage to 30, 79-49 at 9:45, when Holland sunk the back end of two free throws. The Terriers took their largest lead of the game with 4:42 remaining when they held a 37-point advantage, 95-58, on a pair of Strong foul shots.

Holland scored all 10 of BU's opening points on a three-point play, an alley-oop dunk, a fast-break dunk and a 3-pointer. The Terriers stayed out in front, but Hartford kept BU's lead in single digits until Lowe sunk a 3-pointer at 9:53 to put the Terriers up 28-18. BU extended that advantage to 15, 35-20, on a Holland triple at 7:15 and to 20, 49-29, after Strong laid in a leaner. It never dipped below 19 the rest of the way.

The Terriers close out the regular season at Albany on Sunday, March 2 when BU takes on the Great Danes at 2 p.m. on TW-3.