Boston University
13-15, 9-8PL
Army
15-13, 6-11PL
Alston's Career Night Propels Terriers Past Army, 63-57
February 25, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Box Score| Photo Gallery(Jim Pierce)
| Watch Replay | Highlights
SCHEDULE UPDATE: Saturday's tip-off vs. Holy Cross pushed back to 4 p.m.
BOSTON - Highlighted by junior Justin Alston's career-high 18 points, the Boston University men's basketball team went wire-to-wire in a 63-57 victory over Army on Wednesday night at Agganis Arena.
With the win, the Terriers (13-15) improve to 9-8 in the Patriot League standings and clinch a first-round bye for next week's conference tournament. With one game remaining, they also extend their streak of finishing .500 or better in conference play to 15 seasons, which is tied for the 13th longest in the nation.
Alston was one of three in double figures for BU with sophomores Eric Fanning and Cedric Hankerson contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively. Both Alston and Hankerson hauled in seven rebounds apiece, while junior Nathan Dieudonne posted a game-high eight rebounds to help the Terriers out-rebound Army (15-13, 6-11 PL), 37-32.
Tanner Plomb shot 8-of-17 to tally a game-high 22 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Black Knights. Kevin Ferguson scored 20 points in January's 71-67 win over BU but was held to just 10 on Wednesday. Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year and league-leading scorer Kyle Wilson (17.8 ppg) only managed nine points for the loss. His 3-of-10 performance marked just the third time this season he was unable to reach double figures.
After Alston opened the contest with a jumper, Hankerson drained a 3-pointer and added his second of the game three minutes later to give BU a 15-2 lead. Plomb mounted a rally with a pair of treys to pull Army within four (16-12) at 10:27, but Alston responded with a dunk and jumper to key a 7-0 spurt.
The Terriers entered the locker room ahead, 36-24, after shooting 46.2 percent from the field and holding the Black Knights to 30.4 percent. BU had the double-digit lead by outscoring Army off turnovers and in the paint by an identical score of 14-6.
Wilson came out on the attack early in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers to help pull Army within four (38-34) at 16:24. Six minutes later, Ferguson hit a free throw to cut the deficit to just three (43-40).
BU responded by going back to the paint with Alston tallying six of the Terriers' next 10 points for the 53-42 lead at 7:10. The Black Knights did not back down though, as Plomb reeled off eight straight points behind two 3-pointers over the following three minutes. After Fanning hit two free throws at 3:42, Plomb missed from behind the arc, leading to Alston's layup.
Ahead by seven with 2:32 left and the defense performing admirably, BU had opportunities to build on the lead but went 2-of-8 at the charity stripe over the following two minutes. Army's Dylan Cox cut the deficit to 59-55 with a layup at 22 seconds and then stole the inbounds pass before draining two free throws.
Fanning went to the line at the 17-second mark and drained his first free throw to push the lead to 60-57. He missed his second attempt, but Dieudonne came up huge with the team's seventh offensive rebound. Papale sealed the victory with two free throws to help BU earn a split against the Black Knights and improve to 13-7 all-time in the series.
BU went 6-of-18 (.333) in the second half but scored 15 points from the line to hold off Army, as the Black Knights finished 18-of-53 (.340) and 13-of-18 (.722) at the charity stripe. The Terriers ended the contest 18-of-44 (409) and 23-of-36 (.639), respectively.
They will next end the regular season at home against in-state rival Holy Cross on Saturday (Feb. 28) with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. Having already earned a first round bye, BU can clinch the fourth seed and a home game in the quarterfinals with a win over the Crusaders.
