Feb. 12, 2014

Box Score | Watch Replay | Irving's Postgame Comments

HAMILTON, N.Y. - Trailing by three at the half, the Boston University men's basketball team shot 64.0 percent in the second and used two late field goals by sophomore John Papale to earn a 76-74 victory at Colgate on Wednesday night. With their third straight sweep over a Patriot League opponent, the Terriers improve to 18-8 (11-2 PL) and remain in a tie for first in the conference standings with American.

Down 69-68 with 3:21 remaining in regulation, Papale hit a 3-pointer and later leaned in for a critical mid-range jumper that extended BU's lead to four (75-71) at the 29-second mark. Colgate (9-15, 3-10 PL) missed its next two 3-point attempts and finally hit one at the buzzer to put the final deficit at two, allowing BU to improve to 6-1 in games decided by three points or less.

Papale was one of four Terriers in double figures with 13 points. Senior Dom Morris was big under the basket with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while junior Malik Thomas tallied 10 points. Playing his first season in the Patriot League, sophomore Maurice Watson Jr. has already made his mark, as he moved to ninth place all-time for assists in a season in the conference record book at 173 after recording five helpers with 12 points.

Colgate entered the contest with plenty of confidence coming off a 63-60 win at American. Led by Murphy Burnatowski's game-high 27 points, the Raiders trailed by 12 with 8:48 remaining before rallying to grab the 69-68 advantage at 3:21. Damon Sherman-Newsome and Ethan Jacobs were the other two in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively, as Colgate finished the night 27-of-49 (.551).

The contest featured multiple runs and hot shooting from behind the arc by both teams throughout, but the Raiders could never extend their lead beyond three. Watson and sophomore Nathan Dieudonne hit back-to-back treys to give BU the early 10-2 advantage at 16:24.

After Colgate moved ahead, 24-23, on a Sherman-Newsome layup with 8:07 remaining, the Terriers responded with an 11-2 spurt over the next two minutes capped by Papale's jumper and free throw. BU would only hit one more field goal the rest of the half though, as the Raiders finished with a 13-2 run to grab a 39-36 lead entering the locker room.

The Raiders shot a stifling 61.5 percent from the field, highlighted by Burnatowski's five 3-pointers on six attempts. The Terriers only committed three turnovers though and outscored Colgate in second-chance points, 10-4.

Morris opened the second half with his 10th 3-pointer of the season to ignite a 11-0 charge capped by Irving's trey at 17:13. Robinson hit one of his own at 9:23 to put the Terriers ahead, 62-50.

Finishing with a season-low six turnovers, BU held its final double-digit lead (66-56) at 6:47 when Morris backed down his defender for the layup. Chad Johnson, Burnatowski and Sherman-Newsome all drained 3-pointers during Colgate's successful 13-2 rally capped by Burnatowski's layup with 3:21 left in regulation.

After Papale nailed his second 3-pointer of the night, the Terriers earned the stop with Morris grabbing the defensive rebound. Irving followed with a long jumper to grab the 73-69 lead. The Raiders were stopped again on the following possession but used BU's final turnover on an inbounds pass for a quick layup with 54 seconds left.

Colgate called timeout to set up its defense. The Terriers brought the ball up the court and eventually found Papale, who made a couple of dribbles before draining the clutch basket. Down by four, the Raiders missed their next 3-point attempt, which led to Irving hitting 1-of-2 free throws.

BU finished 31-of-58 (.534), including 10-of-21 (.476) from behind the arc, and outscored the Raiders in bench points, 21-6, while also winning the battle at the boards, 28-25. Colgate finished ahead in both points in the paint (26-24) and points off turnovers (13-9) with just seven miscues of its own.

Visiting Cotterell Court for the first time since both teams were members of the North Atlantic Conference (currently America East) in 1990, the Terriers extend their win streak over Colgate to 20 games and now lead the all-time series, 24-15.

BU will remain on the road and next visit Loyola Maryland on Saturday (Feb. 15) with the MASN and SNY broadcast set to begin at 8 p.m. The contest marks the first match-up at Reitz Arena since the Greyhounds eliminated the Terriers in the first round of the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).