Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Earning its fourth win in five games, the Boston University men's basketball team held American to 33.3 percent shooting in a 61-53 victory on CBS Sports Network's Wednesday night broadcast.

With the program's first sweep over the Eagles (14-13, 7-8 PL) as a member of the Patriot League, the Terriers improve to 12-14 and 8-7 conference action while moving into sole possession of fourth place in the standings.

Down 10-9 at 11:02 in the first half, BU went on a 11-2 run and never trailed the rest of the contest to avenge last year's 86-56 defeat at Bender Arena. The Eagles cut an early 14-point second-half deficit to seven with 1:31 left, but freshman Will Goff went 9-of-10 at the line to finish with a season-high nine points and seal the victory.

BU featured three Terriers in double figures after a 20-of-41 (.488) performance from the field. Sophomore Cedric Hankerson had 14 points, while junior Nathan Dieudonne posted 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds to help the Terriers win the battle at the boards, 31-28. Sophomore Eric Fanning added 12 points in his third start of the season. Freshman Nick Havener joined Goff in making a valuable contribution, as he tallied four rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes of action.

The Eagles also had three men in double figures but went 18-of-54 (.333) to reach the mark. Jesse Reed shot 5-of-14 to tally a game-high 17 points, while Jalen Rhea had 12 points off the bench. John Schoof added 11 points, two blocks and two steals, as American dropped to 7-2 at home on the season.

Neither team got into a groove early on, missing the game's first seven shot attempts before Hankerson hit a layup and the free throw at 17:22. After Hankerson's 3-pointer gave BU an early 9-5 lead with 14:01 left in the half, Schoof nailed a trey and added his own layup to give the Eagles their final lead of the game.

Dieudonne responded with a layup, and Schoof's turnover led to Fanning's layup. Fanning later drained his lone 3-pointer at 5:35 for the 20-12 lead. Hankerson's pair of free throws four minutes later pushed the advantage to 27-15 entering the locker room.

The Terriers allowed the fewest points in a half this season by holding American to 6-of-25 shooting, including 2-of-15 from behind the arc. BU overcame 10 turnovers by allowing just five points off the miscues.

Fanning opened the second half with a layup for BU's largest lead of the game. Trailing 40-30 with 10:53 remaining, Jalen Rhea's 3-pointer and Pee Wee Gardner's layup cut the deficit to five (40-35) at 9:25. BU followed with its fourth and final turnover of the half, prompting a timeout by fourth-year head coach Joe Jones.

The timeout came at the perfect time, as the Terriers came out of the break with a critical defensive stand. They forced American into a tough shot and converted the rebound into a 3-pointer by junior John Papale. Dieudonne and Fanning added back-to-back layups to push the lead to 47-35 with 5:28 left. 

The Eagles would never get closer than seven the rest of the game, as BU went 12-of-16 in the second half from the charity stripe to earn the victory. The Terriers outscored American in the paint, 32-20, and tied the Eagles in points off turnovers at 11-11 despite having five more turnovers than the home team (14-9). 

BU will remain on the road for its final trip of the regular season with a visit to Patriot League leader Bucknell on Sunday (Feb. 22) at 12 p.m.