BOSTON – Boosted by sophomore Max Mahoney's 27 points and a strong defensive effort, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed a 64-55 win over Loyola Maryland in front of a boisterous crowd Wednesday night at The Roof.

As part of the annual Club Sports and Intramural Spirit Night, the Terriers (12-10, 8-3 PL) held the Greyhounds (7-15, 5-6 PL) to 38.2 percent shooting to gain sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings. 

THE FINAL STRETCH

• After Sam Norton completed a 3-point play with a free throw at 6:38 to cut the Terriers' lead to 51-46, BU's defense held the Greyhounds without a field goal for nearly five minutes.
• Mahoney hit a pair of layups and freshman Javante McCoy drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 57 seconds remaining to give BU its first double-digit lead (58-48) of the game.
• Loyola missed 10 straight field goal attempts after Norton's layup until Chuck Champion scored on a short jumper at 47 seconds.
• The Terriers went 6-of-8 at the line the rest of the way to seal the victory.

THE SETUP

• Mahoney won the tip to start the contest and scored on a putback before following senior Eric Johnson's 3-pointer with a jumper.
• The Greyhounds bit away at the lead and eventually tied it at 11:57 (14-14) on Norton's jumper. 
• Loyola would tie it two more times at 7:40 (19-19) and 5:59 (21-21), respectively, but would never take the lead.
• Finishing 8-of-10 at the charity stripe, freshman Walter Whyte hit a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to put BU ahead for good.
• Sophomore Tyler Scanlon added two more with 2.5 seconds left in the half and intercepted a long in-bound heave to give the Terriers a 33-29 halftime lead.
• Following Norton's layup at the start of the second half, Whyte drained a 3-pointer from the corner and then set up Mahoney's layup with a steal to put BU ahead, 38-31.
• The Greyhounds cut the deficit to one at 14:55 (38-37) and 13:34 (40-39), respectively, but Mahoney had a response each time to prevent a successful Loyola rally.
• Whyte pushed BU's lead to eight at 10:32 (47-39) and 7:03 (51-43), respectively, but the Terriers were unable to reach double digits until McCoy's 3-pointer in the final minute.

GAME NOTES

• Mahoney went 12-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 at the line to finish just two points shy of his personal best in only 20 minutes of action.
• Whyte was also one point shy of his season high while tying both Mahoney and Scanlon (8 pts.) in rebounds at seven apiece.
• Johnson started the game to mark BU's fifth different lineup of the season and finished with five points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
• Head coach Joe Jones only had nine healthy bodies to work with tonight, as senior Cedric Hankerson (13.7 ppg) was out for the third straight game due to injury and senior Nick Havener (7.7 ppg) was out due to the flu. Both senior Cheddi Mosely (career 10.6 ppg) and sophomore Destin Barnes (career 5.6 ppg) suffered season-ending injuries back in November. 
• The Terriers won for the first time this season when held below 45 percent shooting after finishing 22-of-49 (.449) and outscoring the Greyhounds in made free throws, 16-9.
• Loyola's 55 points marked the team's smallest offensive output since a 64-52 loss at Fairfield back on Nov. 14. The Greyhounds were averaging 73.2 ppg in 10 PL games.
• Loyola's reigning PL Player of the Week Andre Walker entered the contest owning a PL-high 23.0 ppg in conference-only games and was held to 6-of-17 FG (2-of-10 3FG) and 15 total points, marking his smallest offensive output since he went 3-of-8 (9 pts.) at Holy Cross on Jan. 8.
• Walker added a game-high eight rebounds and four steals, while Champion had 12 points off the bench.
• The Terriers improved to 9-5 all-time against Loyola, including a perfect 6-0 at home, by avenging an earlier 68-65 loss at Reitz Arena.

NEXT UP: LEHIGH

• After avoiding a Greyhound sweep, the Terriers will now set their sights on earning their first of the season when they visit Lehigh on Saturday (Feb. 3) with tip-off slated for 2 p.m.
• BU won the first meeting back on Jan. 8 at home, 92-81, with Mahoney posting 22 points and Whyte claiming a double-double (16 pts., 11 rebs.).
• The Terriers shot 52.5 FG% against Lehigh's 47.0 FG% and finished with a 20-5 advantage in made free throws to offset the Mountain Hawks' 14-8 lead in made 3-pointers.