Jan. 27, 2010
Final Stats | Chambers' Postgame Comments
ORONO, Maine - The Boston University men's basketball rallied from a 10-point deficit with 5:01 remaining to tie the game at 54 apiece, but on the ensuing possession, Mike Allison hit a buzzer-beating layup after receiving an inbounds pass from near mid-court to lead Maine to a 56-54 victory Wednesday night at Alfond Arena. Led by John Holland's 13 points and nine rebounds, the Terriers drop to 11-10 and 5-3 in league play, while the Black Bears (14-6, 6-1 AE) remain atop the conference standings.
Two other Terriers scored in double figures with Jake O'Brien adding 13 and Corey Lowe recording 12. BU went 20-for-58 (.345) from the field and was even in the rebound battle at 39 boards apiece.
Murphy Burnatowski led the Black Bears with 14 points, while Terrance Mitchell contributed 10. Junior Bernal posted a game-high 10 rebounds and seven points. Maine shot 21-for-56 (.375) and hit eight of its 10 3-pointers in the first half to take a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
In conference play, Maine held its first six opponents to a league-low 58.5 points per game and 36.6 percent shooting. Before starting league action, the Black Bears had defeated Boston College, 52-51, and hung tough with then-No. 11 UConn before losing 71-54.
Their defense was stingy once again, holding the league's No. 1 scoring offense to a season-low 54 points and 30.3 percent shooting in the first half. The Terriers largest lead of the game came at 10:23 when Lowe's 3-pointer put BU ahead, 20-16. However, they would only score five points the rest of the half off a 3-pointer and layup from O'Brien.
Carlos Strong's dunk at 16:56 in the second put BU ahead for the last time of the game at 31-30, as Burnatowski's 3-pointer put Maine up again by two.
Leading 46-43 at 9:50 following a Lowe jumper, Maine went on a 7-0 run capped by Mitchell's layup at 5:03. The Black Bears held the Terriers without a field goal for the next two minutes but could not take advantage on the offensive end.
O'Brien drained a 3-pointer at 2:34 and Strong hit two free throws at 2:08 to cut the lead to five. Tunde Agboola stole the ball at 2:00, and Pelage's dunk put BU within three. Maine then tried to drain the clock and score, but BU's defense held strong and got the rebound.
Lowe drove to the basket and hit a layup at 41 seconds but missed the free throw following the foul. He grabbed the rebound and was in position to give BU the lead and possibly only leave the Black Bears with about five seconds on the clock. However, Maine swarmed the ball and enticed him into a turnover, as he looked to drive to the basket again.
With 16 seconds remaining after getting fouled, Sean McNally only hit one of two free throws, allowing Pelage to tie the game at 54 apiece with four seconds left.
The Black Bears quickly brought the ball up the court and called a timeout at 2.9 seconds, leading to Allison's buzzer-beating heroics.
The Terriers had the edge in points off turnovers, 17-3, but had zero production from the bench against Maine's 17 points. They see their six-game win streak in the series snap and their record now stand at 54-39 all-time.
BU will end its three-game road trip at Stony Brook on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7:00 p.m.
