Feb. 5, 2014

Box Score | Coach Jones' postgame comments

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Led by a strong defensive effort that resulted in a season-high 50 rebounds and a 29.3 opponent field goal shooting percentage, the Boston University earned a 61-48 victory at Navy on Wednesday night. Winning their first-ever visit to Alumni Hall, the Terriers improve to 16-8 and 9-2 in Patriot League play, while the Midshipmen fall to 7-15 (2-9 PL).

Six Terriers finished with eight or more points, as BU finished the night 20-of-54 (.370) from the field. Senior D.J. Irving led with a team-high 12 points, and sophomore John Papale contributed 10 points. Sophomore Nathan Dieudonne was just shy of his second career double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while classmate Maurice Watson Jr. recorded nine points and eight assists. Junior Malik Thomas helped on the defensive end with a season-high 10 rebounds.

Finishing 17-of-58 (.293), the Mids were held below 30 percent shooting for the second time this season by BU. Zach Fong hit three 3-pointers to lead Navy with a game-high 15 points, while Tim Abruzzo had 12 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Navy opened the game with a short jumper by Kendall Knorr, but the Terriers scored the next 10 points to grab a lead they would never relinquish. Ahead 16-8 with 8:20 remaining in the half, Watson and Irving hit back-to-back treys to give BU its largest lead of the game (22-8).

Highlighted by two 3-pointers from Abruzzo, the Mids finished on a 12-4 run to pull within six (26-20) entering the locker room. Led by freshman Cedric Hankerson's nine points, the Terriers could have built a larger lead but hurt themselves with nine turnovers and a 3-of-8 performance at the charity stripe.

At the start of the second half, Thomas and Dieudonne hit back-to-back baskets to push BU's lead back to double digits. Dieudonne's dunk at 10:50 gave BU the 42-28 advantage, but the Mids did not back down, scoring five straight points behind two free throws and a Abruzzo 3-pointer.

Navy eventually cut its deficit to five at 5:53 (47-42) and 3:34 (50-45), respectively, but would not get any closer. The Mids called a timeout after the 3-pointer by Fong to set up their defense. Watson sliced through the defenders to feed Dieudonne for the slam dunk.

BU's defense then stepped up and only allowed one field goal on 10 attempts in the final three minutes of action. Irving, Papale, Watson and senior Travis Robinson sealed the win by going a combined 9-of-10 at the line down the stretch.

Earning the program's first sweep of a Patriot League team in their inaugural season as a member, the Terriers finished 12-of-18 (.667) from the charity stripe and 9-of-25 (.360) in 3-point territory. They won the battle at the boards, 50-33, and recorded at least 50 rebounds for the first time since 2009-10.

BU will next host Lafayette at Agganis Arena on Saturday (Feb. 8) with action set to tip off at 1 p.m.