March 18, 2011

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Postgame Comments: BU (podium) | BU (locker room) | Kansas (podium)

TULSA, Okla. - Playing in its first NCAA tournament since 2002, the America East champion Boston University men's basketball team battled hard with top-seeded Kansas before dropping a 72-53 second-round decision on Friday night at the BOK Center. Senior John Holland led all players with 19 points, as the Jayhawks (33-2) snapped the Terriers' 11-game winning streak, which was the second longest in the nation.

Looking for the monumental upset, No. 16 seed BU (21-14) trailed by four at the half and had a chance to cut a six-point deficit back to four with 9:32 remaining. However, the Big 12 champion Jayhawks grabbed the missed jumper and reeled off five straight points en route to a 21-4 run, while avoiding becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.

Playing in front of a national audience on TBS, Holland went 6-of-10 in the first half for 15 points. The America East Player of the Year added two rebounds to finish his collegiate career with 2,212 career points and 725 rebounds. Freshman D.J. Irving had a strong performance, contributing 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Junior Jeff Pelage recorded a team-high seven rebounds, while junior Darryl Partin and freshman Dom Morris contributed nine points each.

Kansas entered the game with only one player averaging more than 28 minutes a contest. On Friday, with the result uncertain until the final minutes, head coach Bill Self had five Jayhawks play at least 28 and left two on the court for more than 30. Marcus Morris posted 16 points and nine rebounds, and his twin brother, Markieff, added 15 points and eight boards. Tyshawn Taylor tallied 10 points and seven assists, while Brady Morningstar contributed 13 points.

Playing against its third-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, BU had previously fallen to Cincinnati, 90-52, in 2002 and to Connecticut, 76-52, in 1990. The Terriers opened the game missing their first three attempts but did not allow KU to break away early with many Jayhawk fans in attendance at the neutral setting.

Holland tied the game (5-5) with his first of three 3-pointers at 15:31, and Irving added a layup one minute later for BU's first lead of the game. After a trey by Tyrel Reed, Holland drained a deep bomb for the 10-8 advantage.

The game went back-and-forth with KU's offense unable to get into any rhythm in the first half. Trailing 14-10 with 10:11 left, the Terriers went on a 6-1 spurt with Holland hitting a layup and Partin nailing a 3-pointer. Irving gave BU its final lead of the game, 16-15, at 8:17.

After a 3-pointer by Reed, Marcus Morris followed with a drive to put the Jayhawks up 20-16. Holland responded with his third 3-pointer of the half to pull BU within 20-19. After KU went up 22-19 on a putback by Thomas Robinson, Morris tied it with a 3-pointer for the Terriers.

He added another with 1:10 left to cut a 31-26 deficit to two. Marcus Morris' jumper pushed KU's lead to four, but Pelage blocked his next attempt with five seconds remaining to keep the game at 33-29 entering the locker room despite BU committing eight turnovers.

The Terriers shot 44 percent from the field in the first half and went 6-of-13 (.462) from beyond the arc, while KU was held to 41.9 percent shooting. BU also only allowed 10 points inside the paint and was out-rebounded by two boards, 19-17.

KU opened the second half on a 10-3 run to go up 43-32 at 13:18 off a layup by Brady Morningstar. The Terriers charged back and moved within six (47-41) at 10:01 when Morris hit his third and final 3-pointer of the game.

BU had a chance to cut the deficit even further, but Josh Selby scored on a fastbreak. Morningstar, Taylor and Markieff Morris then each hit 3-pointers on KU's next three possessions to put the Jayhawks ahead, 58-43, with 7:38 remaining in regulation.

The Terriers finished the night 18-of-51 (.353) and 9-of-25 (.360) from beyond the arc, while KU shot 61.5 percent in the second half to conclude the game, 29-of-57 (.509) and 9-of-20 (.450). Still, BU's defense held the Jayhawks' offense 10 points below its season average.

Becoming the fastest head coach at BU to reach the NCAA tournament, Patrick Chambers will enter his third season next November with only one player missing from this season's team in John Holland.

The 6-foot-5 wingman leaves an incredible legacy for the program, as he played a school-record 4,195 minutes wearing the scarlet and white. He is tied for first all-time at BU in steals (200), second in points (2,212) and sixth in rebounds (725).

Terrier Nation will not forget the six-minute stretch during the America East title game, in which he scored 14 straight points to cut a 15-point second-half deficit to one with 8:14 remaining against Stony Brook. Earning the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, he created a jump ball situation with 30 seconds left and then coolly drained two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining for the 56-54 victory and the program's sixth league title.