Dec. 6, 2011
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BOSTON - Riding a four-game win streak, the Boston University men's basketball team will visit Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night with action set to begin at 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena. The trip will mark the first of three to the city of Philadelphia in December, as the Terriers (4-4) seek their second consecutive win against the Hawks (5-3).
In last year's meeting at Agganis Arena, BU trailed by 12 with 10:34 remaining before embarking on a 14-2 run over the following five minutes to draw even. Led by Darryl Partin's game-high 29 points and Jake O'Brien's near double-double (11 pts., 9 rebs.), the Terriers later reeled off 12 straight points for an 85-79 victory.
2011 America East Player of the Year John Holland added 19 points in the contest. Since his graduation, Partin has become the team's go-to scorer in his senior campaign. Named AE Player of the Week back on Nov. 28, he currently ranks third nationally in scoring at 23.9 ppg after posting back-to-back 27-point performances in wins over Delaware and Boston College.
While Partin is draining his shots, the one driving the offense is sophomore D.J. Irving, who dished out a career-high 11 assists against Delaware last Wednesday, recording the most by a Terrier since 2000. He earned his first-ever AE Player of the Week nod on Monday by averaging 12.5 ppg, 9.0 apg and 6.0 rpg. Senior Patrick Hazel is one beneficiary of his efforts, averaging 8.8 ppg with an impressive .596 field goal percentage.
They will have their hands full on Wednesday under the basket against a SJU squad that is averaging 8.6 blocks a game. Sophomore C.J. Aiken leads the nation at 5.0 bpg while averaging a team-high 5.9 rpg. The Hawks' defense is holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting at 37.7.
Leading the offense is junior Carl Jones at 19.0 ppg with sophomore Langston Galloway in second at 14.3 ppg. The two men combined for 45 points in the last meeting against the Terriers. Galloway was a stifling 6-of-8 from behind the arc. They've helped SJU pick up home wins against Penn State (65-47) and Drexel (62-49) along with a season-opening road win at Western Kentucky (72-61).
BU will be seeking its fourth win in six games against the Atlantic 10 after earlier earning this season a 70-64 win at Rhode Island. Last year, the Terriers went 2-2 with victories against George Washington and SJU and losses to UMass and La Salle. BU will visit the Explorers on Dec. 29.
After meeting SJU, the Terriers will host No. 24 Harvard on Saturday (Dec. 10) at Agganis Arena. The contest will mark the first time a ranked team played at BU since the Hawks coincidentally visited Case Gym at No. 13 back during the 2003-04 season.
The live NESN telecast of the game is set to begin at 4 p.m.
