Johnson Clutch Down the Stretch in 90-87 Thriller at Bethune-Cookman

Friday, December 8

Daytona Beach, FL

7 PM

Boston University

4-4

Bethune-Cookman

4-5

Boston University

Bethune-Cookman

Eric Johnson dribbles the ball up the court at Miami

Photo by: Carl Kafka

Johnson Clutch Down the Stretch in 90-87 Thriller at Bethune-Cookman

December 8, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Eric Johnson Postgame

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Down one with 24 seconds remaining, senior Eric Johnson hit an open 3-pointer at the top of the key and added two more free throws to help the Boston University men's basketball team win an up-tempo battle at Bethune-Cookman, 90-87. The first-ever meeting between the two schools featured 14 ties and 15 lead changes with neither team leading by more than eight.

Featuring four Terriers in double figures, BU (4-4) shot a stellar 64.8 FG% to reach 90 points on the road against a non-conference opponent for the first time since a 96-78 win at Oregon State during the opening round of the 2010 CBI postseason tournament.

THE FINAL MINUTE

After sophomore Max Mahoney tied the game with a free throw, Malik Maitland hit one of his two attempts from the charity stripe at 43 seconds to give the Wildcats their final lead of the game (86-85).
Coming out of a called timeout by head coach Joe Jones, sophomore Tyler Scanlon found Johnson for BU's 10th and final 3-pointer.
Fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound, the Wildcats' Ulmer Manzie went 1-of-2 at the line with 11.8 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.
Johnson hit both of his free throws at 11.2 seconds and Isaiah Bailey missed BCU's lone field goal attempt during the final possession from behind the arc for the loss, as the ball went out of bounds with timing expiring.

THE SETUP

Becoming the first opponent this season to win the tip-off, BCU opened with a jumper by Shawntrez Davis, but the Terriers used 3-pointers from freshmen Walter Whyte and Javante McCoy to grab an early 10-6 lead at 16:13.
With the score tied, 29-29, on Mahoney's jumper, the BCU went on an 11-3 run with three different Wildcats hitting from behind the arc over a two-minute stretch to grab their largest lead of the game at 5:26 (40-32).
Senior Cedric Hankerson halted the spurt with his own 3-pointer, and classmate Nick Havener later hit a jumper just before the buzzer to tie the game entering the locker room, 40-40.
The score remained tied, 70-70, with eight minutes left before the Terriers scored seven straight, highlighted by a terrific drive and slam dunk from Whyte at 5:25.
BCU called a timeout and hit a 3-pointer to prevent the Terriers from pulling away and chipped away at the deficit until Bailey flushed a deep shot for the 85-84 advantage at 1:21.

GAME NOTES

BU shot 64.8 percent from the field against a BCU squad that ranked 73rd nationally in defensive field goal percentage (40.4 FG%) ... The Terriers were just shy of the school record 66.1 FG% set against Lafayette in the 2014 Patriot League quarterfinals, a 91-54 home win.
The 90 points scored in regulation were the most since last season's 91-75 win at Lafayette.
The 87 points allowed were the most in a regulation win since BU claimed a 90-87 home win over Vermont on Jan. 15, 1994.
Havener went 7-of-11 from the field for 17 points, just one shy of his personal best, while Mahoney shot 7-of-9 for a career-high 16 points.
Freshman Javante McCoy hit a season-high three 3-pointers to tie Hankerson's 11 points ... Hankerson hit two treys of his own to move past Mark Daly ('92) for No. 4 all-time in made 3-pointers at 203 total while also grabbing the No. 28 slot in points (1,071).
The Wildcats had three men finish with at least 21 points after the Terriers had only allowed three men to hit that mark through the first seven games ... Tabb tallied a game-high 23 points, while Maitland had 22 points, five assists and two steals ... Bailey posted 21 points, as BCU finished 30-of-60 FG (.500) and 10-of-28 (.357).
BU committed three more turnovers (17-14) but finished ahead in points off turnovers, 22-20.

NEXT UP: UMASS LOWELL

The Terriers will conclude their four-game road trip on Wednesday at UMass Lowell with tip-off slated for 5 p.m. …. The contest will take place at the Costello Athletic Center.
BU is 3-2 all-time against the River Hawks and will be looking to avenge last year's 77-75 loss at UML.
Last season, the River Hawks broke the 75-75 deadlock with 8.6 seconds remaining, and BU's made 3-point attempt came just after the buzzer sounded.