Bucknell Defeats Men's Basketball, 91-79, in Battle for First in the PL

Sunday, January 28

Boston, MA

12 PM

Boston University

11-10, 7-3PL

Bucknell

15-8, 9-1PL

Bucknell

Boston University

Photo by: Rich Gagnon

Bucknell Defeats Men's Basketball, 91-79, in Battle for First in the PL

January 28, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Coach Jones Postgame Photo Gallery

BOSTON – Despite shooting 51.3 percent in the second half and freshman Walter Whyte claiming his second double-double of the season, the Boston University men's basketball team fell to defending Patriot League champion Bucknell, 91-79, on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym.

The Bison (15-8, 9-1 PL) shot 57.4 percent for the contest, including 19-of-31 (.613) in the second half, to avenge an earlier 84-79 home loss to the Terriers (11-10, 7-3 PL) and now sit two games ahead in first place with eight league games remaining.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sophomore Tyler Scanlon opened the game with a layup and scored nine points in the first seven minutes, including a 3-pointer at 13:05, to give BU an early 16-10 advantage.
Freshman Sukhmail Mathon kept BU ahead, 19-15, at 11:33 on a layup, but Stephen Brown keyed a game-changing 10-0 run with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Bison the lead for good.
After freshman Javante McCoy cut the six-point deficit in half with a 3-pointer at 8:22, Bucknell went on a 14-3 run over the next three minutes with Brown flushing another 3-pointer and adding a free throw to a contested layup.
McCoy hit one more trey to pull the Terriers within nine at 3:56 (39-30), but they never would never get closer.
Owning a 44-32 halftime lead, Bucknell used a 3-pointer by Zach Thomas to pull ahead, 54-36, at 16:02.
Senior Eric Johnson tried to provide a spark by feeding Whyte for a slam dunk and sophomore Max Mahoney for a layup, but the Terriers could not carry any momentum.
The Bison led by as many as 23 (84-61) with 5:03 left in regulation.

GAME NOTES

Whyte led BU in scoring for the first time this season with 14 points and also posted a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double in conference play, following a 16-point, 11-rebound performance against Lehigh at home.
Scanlon (12 pts.), Mahoney (10 pts.) and Mathon (10 pts.) all reached double figures, as BU suffered its first loss this season when four Terriers hit the mark.
Mathon also added a season-high eight rebounds to help BU out-rebound Bucknell, 36-31, and finish ahead in second-chance points, 27-16.
BU was missing leading scorer and senior Cedric Hankerson (13.7 ppg) for the second consecutive game due to injury ... The No. 2 scorer Mahoney (12.1 ppg) only managed to play two minutes in the first half and 12 total due to foul trouble.
Ranking 48th nationally in scoring offense (80.6 ppg), the Bison became the first opponent this season to reach 90+ points this season against the Terriers ... The Bison's 57.4 FG% also topped Albany's 57.1 FG% for the best shooting performance against BU.
Bucknell's Brown led all players with 21 points, five assists and four steals while adding five rebounds.
Plagued by foul trouble, reigning PL Player of the Year Nana Foulland added 15 points in 15 minutes, while his possible successor Zach Thomas (21.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg) posted 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Bucknell improved to 11-4 all-time against the Terriers and has now won six straight at BU.

NEXT UP: LOYOLA MARYLAND

Now tied for second in the PL with Colgate at 7-3, BU will remain home and host Loyola Maryland on Wednesday (Jan. 31) at 7 p.m.
Unable to complete the sweep against Bucknell, the Terriers will now try to avoid being swept themselves by the Greyhounds, who escaped with a 68-65 win back on Jan. 5.
BU is 4-0 against Loyola at home since both teams joined the PL in the summer of 2013.