Feb. 20, 2010

Final Stats | Watch Holland's Postgame Comments
Boston Herald: BU sees wisdom in Holland's tunnel vision (2/20)

NEWARK, Del. - The America East's leading scorer John Holland could not be stopped Saturday, as he scored a career-high and Bob Carpenter Center record 43 points to lead the Boston University men's basketball team past Delaware, 78-65, in an ESPNU BracketBusters match-up. Snapping a nine-game losing streak against the former league foe, the Terriers (16-12) now boast a 5-1 record in the month of February with one regular season game remaining.

A 2008 AE Rookie of the Year and 2009 First Team All-Conference honoree, Holland's offensive abilities were on full display, as he shot 14-for-20, including a season-best six made 3-pointers on 10 attempts. The league's top free throw shooter also went 9-for-11 at the charity stripe to top his previous best performance of 38 and also tie BU Hall of Famer Tunji Awojobi's ('97) career-high 43 points, which is the fifth-most ever by a Terrier. New England Basketball Hall of Famer Jim Hayes ('72) still holds the school record with 47.

Carlos Strong was the other Terrier in double figures with 11 points, while Corey Lowe had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Terriers finished 27-for-52 (.519), including a blistering 15-for-24 (.625) in the second. The defense had a solid performance, holding the CAA's No. 2 scorer Jawan Carter to just 12 points and three made field goals with zero 3-pointers after entering the game averaging 2.6 per game.

Delaware's Alphonso Dawson tried to pick up the slack with 19 points and nine boards, but the Blue Hens (7-21) finished the game shooting 23-for-59 (.390). Jamelle Hagins had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to help Delaware out-rebound BU, 37-32.

For the first time this season, the Terriers entered the locker room at the half with a tied score, 32-32. After exchanging baskets to start the second, they went on a 14-3 run capped by Strong's 3-pointer at 13:39. Holland's layup pushed the lead to 19 (67-48) with 6:25 remaining.

Trailing 70-53, the Blue Hens went on a brief 8-0 spurt to cut the deficit to nine, but Holland and Strong made their free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

In the first half, BU shot 42.9 percent while holding Delaware to 36.4 percent. The Blue Hens missed all nine attempts from beyond the arc, but stayed in the game by being strong at the glass, posting 11 offensive rebounds to record nine second-chance points.

Holland opened the game with a 3-pointer, but Delaware came back with a 7-2 run to grab its largest lead of the game at 15:47 off a free throw from Dawson. Holland quickly erased it with a 3-pointer, as the Terriers slowly built its lead to five, 23-18, with 7:05 remaining.

Hakim McCullar's layup at 3:58 gave Delaware its final lead of the game, 24-23. Lowe hit a 3-pointer and then the teams exchanged baskets to finish the half tied at 32 apiece.

After the strong first half rebounding performance, the Blue Hens only managed three offensive boards in the second along with just one second-chance point.

With the victory, the Terriers improve to 3-0 in BracketBusters play and earn their first win over Delaware since an 87-77 home victory back in 1998. Trailing 17-11 in the all-time series, BU also snapped a nine-game losing streak in Newark.

The team will now have a week to recharge in preparations for the final regular season game next Saturday (Feb. 27) in Case Gym against Maine. The action is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet.

Prior to the game, the program will honor its nine seniors - Tunde Agboola, Scott Brittain, Corey Lowe, Tyler Morris, Michael Schulze, Valdas Sirutis, Sherrod Smith, Carlos Strong and Brendan Sullivan.