Jan. 26, 2013
Box Score | Highlights
BOSTON - Featuring six Terriers in double figures for the first time since 2003, the Boston University men's basketball team overcame a 10-point first-half deficit to defeat UMBC, 81-75, on Saturday afternoon in Case Gym.
Moving above .500 for the first time this season after starting 0-5, the Terriers (11-10, 5-3 AE) shot 61.3 percent in the second half and committed a total of six fouls the entire game. More impressively, BU played error-free basketball in the final 20 minutes to finish with a season-low five turnovers.
Named America East Player of the Game, junior Dom Morris tallied a career-high 19 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Just two boards shy of his second consecutive double-double, sophomore Malik Thomas added 10 points, while freshman Maurice Watson Jr. recorded 10 points, six assists and four rebounds with just one turnover. Junior D.J. Irving (13 pts.), freshman John Papale (11 pts.) and freshman Nathan Dieudonne (11 pts.) were the other three Terriers in double figures.
The Retrievers (4-16, 2-5 AE) shot 31-of-59 (.525), including 12-of-22 (.545) from behind the arc with AE Player of the Game Chase Plummer recording a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ryan Cook added 15 points, while Brian Neller and Adrian Satchell contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
UMBC jumped out of the gate with a 7-0 spurt capped by a 3-pointer from Plummer and extended the lead to 10 (25-15) at 7:09 on a trey from Cook. Starting the game 2-of-11, the Terriers responded with 10 straight points to tie the game at 25-25 with 3:19 remaining in the half.
Neller though gave the Retrievers a 32-31 advantage at the half with two 3-pointers in the final two minutes. Both teams shot over 40 percent in the first half, but UMBC drained seven treys on 13 attempts, while BU missed all nine attempts from behind the arc.
The two squads ramped up the energy coming out of the locker room, as they played eight minutes straight without a single timeout. After Plummer hit a 3-pointer to break the sixth tie of the second half, BU head coach Joe Jones finally called one at 11:58 to help settle down his team, as UMBC grabbed a 51-48 lead.
Trailing 57-52 with 9:40 remaining, the Terriers went on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes behind a 3-pointer from Dieudonne and two layups from Irving to grab the lead for good. UMBC though did not let BU break away, using a tip-in from Satchell at 3:40 to cut the Terriers' lead to one (64-63).
On the next three possessions, Watson drained BU's final 3-pointer, forced a UMBC turnover and then fed Thomas for a short jumper to move ahead, 69-63. The Retrievers would cut the deficit to four points in the final minute, but the Terriers hit their last six free throw attempts to seal the win.
After shooting 14-of-31 (.452) from behind the arc at Albany, the Terriers only hit four treys on 19 attempts against UMBC but overcame the 21.1 percent shooting performance by scoring 46 points in the paint and only allowing the Retrievers to attempt two free throws the entire game. Finishing 31-of-60 (.517) and even in rebounds with UMBC at 31-31, BU also forced 12 turnovers for their fourth straight win in the series.
Riding a three-game win streak, the Terriers will next begin their final go-around with the America East at Hartford on Saturday, Feb. 2, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. A founding member of the conference back in 1979, BU will officially join the Patriot League on July 1, 2013.
