Boston University
10-13, 6-6
Lafayette
14-9, 6-6
Terriers Clamp Down on Lafayette in 74-60 Victory
February 9, 2015 | Men's Basketball
EASTON, Pa. - Featuring four Terriers in double figures and a swarming defense, the Boston University men's basketball team limited Lafayette to just six second-half field goals in a 74-60 victory at the Kirby Sports Center Monday night on the CBS Sports Network.
With the victory, BU (10-13, 6-6 PL) extends its double-digit win season streak to 15 years and snaps a four road-game losing streak in conference action. Winning the previous meeting at Agganis Arena (63-62) with a last-second layup, the Leopards (14-9, 6-6 PL) had their own three-game winning streak stopped as well.
Junior John Papale led the Terriers with 14 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers that moved the sharpshooter into sixth-place all-time at BU with 180 treys. Freshman Cheddi Mosely and sophomore Eric Fanning finished with 13 points apiece, while junior Nathan Dieudonne earned 10 points. Sophomore Cedric Hankerson led the defensive effort with a team-high seven points and three steals.
Dan Trist entered the contest as the PL leading scorer at 18.3 ppg and scored 13 points in the first half but would only add four more in the final 20 minutes of action. Seth Hinrichs and Bryce Scott were the other two Leopards in double figures at 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Lafayette finished below 40 percent shooting for just the second time this season at 21-of-53 (.396).
BU jumped out of the gate with 10 straight points and extended the lead to 21-5 at 14:05. During the run, the Terriers drained five 3-pointers with Papale and Mosely each hitting a pair. Fanning added the fifth to give BU its largest lead of the game.
Coming off last Wednesday's home game in which the Leopards earned an 84-74 OT win over PL co-leader Bucknell after trailing by 17 in the second half, Lafayette chipped away at the BU lead and pulled within six (31-25) on Trist's jumper with 7:54 left. The Terriers though continued to hit big shots, including a long jumper by freshman Nick Havener in his first career start before the buzzer, and entered the locker room with a 48-39 lead.
During the first half, BU went 18-of-30 (.600), including 8-of-17 (.471) from behind the arc, while Lafayette tried to keep pace at 15-of-28 (.536). The Leopards tried to mount a rally to start the second with a Trist layup and Joey Ptasinski 3-pointer, but they would finish 4-of-22 (.182) despite entering the contest 22nd in the country at 48.0 FG%.
Sophomore Blaise Mbargorba had a SportsCenter highlight with a one-handed slam dunk at 10:24 to give BU a 61-49 lead. Hinrichs responded with a 3-pointer, but Papale came right back with his final trey to ignite a 11-0 Terrier run. Junior Justin Alston had back-to-back dunks, and Fanning followed with four straight points off two free throws and fastbreak layup to give BU a commanding 72-52 lead with 5:38 remaining.
The Terriers finished 29-of-56 (.518) and outscored Lafayette both in the paint, 32-14, and off turnovers (16-12). They also out-rebounded the Leopards, 36-25, to improve to 6-5 all-time in the series.
BU will next host PL co-leader Colgate (8-4) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The contest will be televised around the country on the American Sports Network. A full listing of affiliates showing the contest will be released on http://www.GoTerriers.com prior to the game.
