Jan. 16, 2012
Box Score | Highlights
BOSTON - The Boston University men's basketball team shot a season-high 51.1 percent from the field and held the nation's No. 4 leading scorer to a season-low six points to earn a 70-57 victory over Albany on Monday night at Agganis Arena. Earning their fourth straight win and 14th consecutive at home against America East opponents, the defending league champion Terriers improve to 8-11 and 4-1 in conference action, while the Great Danes drop to 12-8 (4-2 AE).
Named America East Player of the Game after earlier in the day earning AE Player of the Week honors, sophomore D.J. Irving led the Terriers with a team-high 17 points and six assists. Senior Darryl Partin added 15 points while tying a career high in assists with five. Dom Morris contributed seven points and a team-high seven rebounds, and BU's No. 3 all-time leading blocker Patrick Hazel swatted away five attempts.
Albany's AE Player of the Game Logan Aronhalt scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-21 shooting, and Mike Black finished with 13 points, six assists and three steals. Entering the contest averaging 22.4 points per game and shooting 48.7 percent from the field, Gerardo Suero never got into a rhythm against BU's swarming defense. Scoring in single digits for the first time all season, he went 1-of-10 and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe for just six points while also committing eight turnovers.
Leading 32-25 at the half, Partin opened with a 3-pointer that ignited a 21-5 run that ended at 10:33 with Hazel's layup. The Great Danes would move within 10 (59-49) at 4:41, but the Terriers held strong and never saw their lead fall into single digits.
BU opened the game with a 10-2 spurt behind 3-pointers from Irving and sophomore Travis Robinson, but the Great Danes responded with a 14-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 16-10 with 9:04 remaining in the half.
Robinson stopped the six-minute scoreless streak by hitting both of his free throw attempts and classmate Mike Terry Jr. drained a 3-pointer on the following possession. After John Puk's jumper gave Albany a 21-17 advantage with 5:58 left, BU took the lead for good with five different Terriers contributing in the 9-0 run.
Shooting 30 percent from the field in the first half, the Great Danes only trailed by seven due to a 26-12 advantage in rebounds and 14-0 lead in second chance points. The Terriers made the adjustments in the locker room and out-rebounded Albany, 19-14, during the second half while also holding the Danes to just six second chance points.
BU finished the game 24-of-47 (.511) and 9-of-18 (.500) from behind the arc, as five different Terriers drained their lone 3-point attempts of the contest. Albany shot 19-of-62 (.306) and 10-of-28 (.357), respectively, and turned the ball over 14 times against the Terriers' 12 miscues.
Following their sixth straight win over the Great Danes, BU will next travel to New Hampshire on Thursday (Jan. 19) for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
