COLUMBIA, S.C. – Boosted by nine 3-pointers and seven steals, the Boston University men's basketball team made program history with a thrilling 78-70 win at South Carolina in the opening matchup of the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday night.
Claiming their first-ever win against the Southeastern Conference, the Terriers improve to 3-2, while the Gamecocks drop to 3-1 following three 22+ point victories at home over Wyoming, Cleveland State and North Alabama.
Junior
Javante McCoy netted a team-high 17 points, while both sophomores
Jonas Harper (13) and
Alex Vilarino (12) reached double figures. Sophomore
Walter Whyte led the defensive effort with eight points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. The Terriers shot 42.2 FG% and held the Gamecocks to 40.3 FG% while also outscoring USC off turnovers, 13-7, and in bench production, 19-8.
DOWN THE STRETCH
- Finishing with 22 points, USC's AJ Lawson tied the game for the 10th and final time, 60-60, on a jumper and free throw at 7:05.
- After both teams came up with a defensive stop, McCoy missed a contested layup attempt, but classmate Sukhmail Mathon hauled in the offensive rebound and helped set up McCoy's lone trey to grab the lead for good at 6:06.
- USC missed its next eight field goal attempts while also committing a pair of turnovers over the following five minutes.
- Whyte scored with an offensive tip-in at 4:39 and shortly thereafter swiped the ball away from TJ Moss, leading to McCoy's layup and free throw for the 69-60 advantage at 3:33.
- Justin Minaya netted both free throw attempts at 1:55 to pull within seven, but Vilarino fed the cutting senior Max Mahoney for an open layup on the ensuing possession.
- Vilarino, Harper and McCoy combined for 7-of-8 at the charity stripe during the final minute to seal the victory.
THE SETUP
- BU won the tip and found Harper in the corner for a game-opening 3-pointer.
- The first half featured six ties and nine lead changes with the Gamecocks grabbing their largest lead (11-5) at 16:24 on a free throw.
- Vilarino flushed a trey to spark an 11-2 run capped by freshman Ethan Brittain-Watts' bomb at 13:23.
- Junior Andrew Petcash's jumper at 11:21 gave BU its largest lead of the half, 18-14.
- USC scored six straight and later went into the locker room ahead, 38-35, following a 3-pointer by AJ Lawson.
- Like the first, Harper started the second with a 3FG to wipe away USC's final lead of the game.
- Lawson responded to McCoy's slam dunk with a jumper at 18:04 to the game, 40-40, and added a layup at 13:29 to even the game again.
- BU was 1-of-6 from behind the arc at the beginning of the second half before Harper (11:04) and Petcash (10:14) drained a pair of shots to grab 56-51 lead.
- Lawson helped key one more charge to tie the game at 7:05 but would not score again until there were two seconds remaining in regulation.
GAME NOTES
- The eight-point victory marked BU's first win over a Power 5 opponent since the 2013-14 season when they topped Maryland - then in the ACC - by a score of 83-77 on the road.
- The Terriers shot 48.1 percent from the floor (13-of-27) after halftime with Vilarino assisting on five of the 13 baskets for a career-tying six helpers.
- McCoy added seven rebounds and five assists in a team-high 35 minutes of action.
- Mahoney tallied nine points and six rebounds, while freshman Ethan Brittain-Watts recorded a season-high eight points off the bench in just 12 minutes.
- Maik Kotsar (14 pts.) and Minaya (10 pts.) joined Lawson in reaching double figures, as Lawson added seven rebounds and five assists.
- USC entered the matchup holding their first three opponents to 29.1 FG% and forcing 20.7 turnovers, but BU was able to shoot 27-of-64 (.422) and 9-of-25 (.360) in 3-point territory while committing just 11 turnovers.
- BU moved to 1-2 all-time against the Gamecocks after USC earned seven-point victories during a home-and-away series in 1979-80 and 1980-81.
NEXT UP: WEST VIRGINIA
- The Terriers will continue the Cancun Challenge with their first-ever visit to Morgantown, West Virginia.
- BU is 0-2 all-time against the Mountaineers, first suffering a heart-breaking 86-82 loss to a Jerry West-led squad in the 1959 Elite Eight.
- West Virginia won the next meeting in 1974-75 (99-83) at a tournament hosted in D.C.
- BU will be seeking its first-ever win against the Big 12 conference.
