Dec. 11, 2010
Box Score | Postgame Comments
ALLSTON, Mass. - Senior John Holland and junior Jake O'Brien combined for 41 points, as the Boston University men's basketball team fell to Harvard, 87-71, on Saturday afternoon at Lavietes Pavilion. Recording a season-low eight turnovers, the Terriers (4-7) hit 12 3-pointers and shot 41.5 percent from the field, but the Crimson (7-2) drained 10 of its own and went 23-for-29 (.793) at the free throw line to pull out the win.
Holland tallied a game-high 21 points after going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, while O'Brien finished with 20 points and a team-high five rebounds along with freshman Dom Morris. Coming off Thursday's 20-point performance against La Salle, junior Darryl Partin was the third Terrier in double figures with 15 points.
Harvard had six men score in double figures, with junior Keith Wright posting a double-double off 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Christian Webster contributed a team-high 18 points, and freshman Laurent Rivard added 15 off the bench. The Crimson won the rebound battle, 40-28, and recorded 16 assists against 10 turnovers.
After Holland's jumper to tie the score at 43-43 with 16:52 remaining in the contest, Harvard went on a 12-0 run and continued to hit shots down the stretch to hold off any potential BU rally. The Crimson had the hot hand, hitting 71.4 percent of its attempts in the second half.
Harvard jumped out the gate with a 10-2 lead after Oliver McNally's 3-pointer at 16:43. Holland and O'Brien though hit a combined six 3-pointers over the next 10 minutes to give the Terriers the 24-23 lead with 6:44 remaining in the half.
BU took its largest lead, 29-27, after Matt Griffin's 3-pointer at 3:38. The teams exchanged baskets the rest of the half, and Wright broke the tie with a layup to give Harvard a 35-33 lead heading into the locker room.
In the second, Harvard took a quick 39-33 lead, but O'Brien hit two 3-pointers to keep BU within striking distance. With the score tied at 43, the Terriers though missed four straight 3-point attempts, and Harvard took advantage by getting to the free throw line and hitting two 3-pointers during the 12-0 spurt.
Taking a total of eight trips to the line, BU committed its seventh foul at 12:44, and the Crimson would hit 16 of its 20 attempts at the charity stripe during the second half.
After playing their seventh opponent to be coming off a 2009-10 postseason bid, the Terriers will next concentrate on finals before hosting Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at Agganis Arena.
Fans are encouraged to drop off non-perishable food at the Agganis Arena Ticket Office before the date to help the Brookline Food Pantry. For every person that donates, they will receive a buy one, get one free ticket offer to the men's basketball game against the Hawks or the Dec. 29 men's basketball game versus Quinnipiac at Case Gym.
