Hankerson Surge Propels BU Past Army West Point, 90-82, in PL Opener

Friday, December 29

Boston, MA

7 PM

Boston University

5-7, 1-0PL

Army West Point

7-5, 0-1PL

Army West Point

Boston University

Photo by: Steve Babineau

Hankerson Surge Propels BU Past Army West Point, 90-82, in PL Opener

December 29, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Coach Jones Postgame Hankerson Postgame

BOSTON – Highlighted by 33 points from senior Cedric Hankerson, including 10 straight in a critical stretch late in the second half, the Boston University men's basketball team opened Patriot League play with a 90-82 home win over Army West Point on Friday night.

The Black Knights (7-5, 0-1 PL) entered the contest ranked 67th nationally in defensive field goal percentage (.406), but the Terriers (5-7, 1-0 PL) went 30-of-59 (.508) from the field and 12-of-26 (.462) in 3-point territory to become just the second squad this season besides Wake Forest to post at least 80 points. One shy of his career high, Hankerson was joined by sophomore Tyler Scanlon (17 pts.), freshman Walter Whyte (16 pts.) and sophomore Max Mahoney (12 pts.) in reaching double figures.

TURNING POINT

Owning a 61-60 lead with 7:07 remaining in regulation, Hankerson reeled off 10 straight points with a layup, two free throws and back-to-back 3-pointers in 1:42 to create enough distance for the Terriers.
Army pulled within nine at 3:52 (74-65) and 37 seconds (85-76), but the Terriers hit 11 of their 18 free throws during the final 74 seconds to seal the win.

THE SETUP

In a sign of things to come, Hankerson opened the game with a 3-pointer, steal and layup to give the Terriers the quick lead.
The first half featured five ties and four lead changes, as Jordan Fox keyed an 8-0 spurt in response with a pair of 3-pointers.
BU and Army went back and forth with Fox tying the game, 24-24, at 7:54 on a jumper.
Mahoney battled down low for a layup and then found senior Eric Johnson for a 3-pointer to ignite an 18-6 spurt capped by Hankerson's trey at 4:18 for the 42-30 advantage.
The Black Knights scored nine straight over the next three minutes, but Mahoney ended the half with a layup off a quick pass from freshman Javante McCoy to give BU a 46-41 halftime advantage.
Luke Morrison tied the game, 48-48, at 18:24 in the second on one of his three treys, but he missed his next attempt from behind the arc on the ensuing possession that would have given Army the lead.
BU converted two steals into quick buckets, including a thunderous slam dunk from McCoy, to grab the lead for good.
Whyte's layup at 11:18 gave BU a 59-51 lead, but the Black Knights responded with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to one.

GAME NOTES

The Terriers' 90 points were the program's most scored in a home Patriot League game and one shy of the most scored in a PL contest after BU claimed a 91-75 win at Lafayette on Jan. 8, 2017 ... BU had previously reached 90+ one other time in PL play with a 90-89 OT home win over Army on Jan. 25, 2017.
Previously draining 10 3-pointers at Syracuse last season en route to 34 points, Hankerson went 10-of-14 against Army, including 5-of-8 3FG, and added eight free throws on 10 attempts to tally at least 30 points for the second time in his career.
Whyte posted a personal-best 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting with two 3-pointers and two free throws to eclipse his previous high of 12 points scored at Maine while adding a team-high six rebounds.
Besides also shooting 6-of-9, Mahoney matched Whyte's six rebounds and added a career-high five assists and three blocks.
Freshman Sukhmail Mathon's four assists and six rebounds marked the most against a Division I opponent this season after he tallied four helpers and eight boards against Wheaton back on Nov. 26.
The Terriers entered the game with the nation's worst free throw shooting percentage (.547) but hit a season-high 18 shots off 25 attempts (.720).
BU's 12 3-pointers tied a season high and marked the most allowed by Army this season ... The Black Knights were previously holding opponents to 32.5 3FG%.
BU improved to 16-9 all-time against the Black Knights in the first-ever conference-opening matchup featuring the two squads ... The Terriers had opened the last four conference schedules against in-state rival Holy Cross.
Army's Jordan Fox entered the game averaging a PL-high 3.3 made 3-pointers and hit four in the first half en route to 16 points but only scored two in the second for a team-high 18 points.
Both Fox and Tommy Funk (14 pts.) tallied eight assists apiece, as Army recorded 24 helpers against 13 turnovers.

NEXT UP: BUCKNELL

The Terriers will next visit defending PL champion Bucknell on Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m.
Tabbed the preseason favorites, Bucknell has won the last seven meetings.