WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following a 12-day holiday break, the Boston University men's basketball team opened the Patriot League schedule with an 86-74 loss at American on Wednesday night.
 
The Terriers (7-7, 0-1 PL) shot over 54 percent, but PL Preseason Player of the Year Sa'eed Nelson and 2018 All-PL Rookie honoree Sam Iorio went a combined 20-of-34 from the field en route to 53 points total to help the Eagles (7-5, 1-0 PL) win the conference opener. Junior Tyler Scanlon was one of four in double figures for BU with a team-high 18 points.
 
TURNING POINT

• Trailing by as many as 16 in the middle of the second half, the Terriers rallied to the cut the deficit to five (61-56) on Scanlon's jumper at 5:25.
• Owning a 64-58 advantage with 4:16 remaining, Larry Motuzis flushed a 3-pointer from the corner to spark a 10-2 run over the next two minutes to help the Eagles pull away.
• American went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe during the final three minutes to seal the victory. 

THE SETUP

• Sophomore Javante McCoy and Scanlon each hit a 3-pointer to grab an early 6-2 lead.
• McCoy, junior Max Mahoney and sophomore Sukhmail Mathon hit three straight layups to give BU its largest lead of the game, 14-7, at 14:47.
• The Eagles eventually cut the deficit to one (20-19) at 8:49 on Iorio's 3-pointer.
• Redshirt-freshman Alex Vilarino gave the Terriers their final lead, 26-25, on a layup with 4:35 remaining.
• The Terriers started the game 11-of-17 but finished the half 1-of-7, as the Eagles responded to Vilarino's bucket with a 14-2 run.
• Iorio flushed another 3-pointer just before the buzzer for the 39-28 halftime advantage.
• Vilarino and Scanlon opened the second half with back-to-back buckets, but the Eagles responded with a 14-5 run over the next four minutes to grab their largest lead of the game, 53-37.

GAME NOTES

• Scanlon tallied 18 points and added three assists alongside Vilarino, who posted a season-high 10 points.
• Mahoney (15 pts.) and McCoy (14 pts.) also finished in double figures.
• Seven individuals had a steal, as BU finished one shy of matching the season high.
• The Terriers shot 58.6 percent in the second half, but AU went 17-of-24 (.708) from the field and 12-of-13 (.923) at the line to outscore BU, 47-46.
• Nelson went 11-of-16 from the field and 8-of-9 at the line to become the third individual to finish with 30+ points this season against the Terriers.
• The Eagles were the second opponent this season to outscore BU in the paint (52-44) and the first to finish with more than 42 points.
• With their third straight loss in the series, BU now leads the Eagles, 9-6. 

NEXT UP: BUCKNELL

• The Terriers return home to host the defending Patriot League champions on Saturday (Jan. 5) at 1 p.m.
• Both road teams won during the regular season before the top-seeded Bison eliminatied BU in the PL semifinals in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.