BOSTON – Down by as many as 14 points in the first half and later nine with under to seven to play, the Boston University men's basketball team mounted a successful rally to defeat Lafayette, 73-72, on Thursday night at Case Gym in the Patriot League opener for both teams.

Claiming their first one-point victory since a Nov. 2017 win at New Hampshire, the Terriers (7-7, 1-0 PL) extend their season-high win streak to four games despite holding the lead for approximately 25 seconds total. Sophomore Jonas Harper flushed his fourth and final 3-pointer at 12.5 seconds and helped the defense shut down the Leopards (8-4, 0-1 PL) during their final possession. One of four Terriers to score in double figures, senior Max Mahoney assisted on what proved to be the game winner after tallying a game-high 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Lafayette's E.J. Stephens came off the bench for a team-high 17 points, while both No. 2 PL scorer Justin Jaworski (19.2 ppg) and Lukas Jarrett contributed 15 points apiece. The Leopards finished with more free throws (13-7), 3-pointers (9-8) and a higher field goal shooting percentage (50.0 - 47.5), but the Terriers outscored Lafayette off turnovers (16-9) and in second-chance opportunities (10-2) to prevail.

DOWN THE STRETCH

• After seeing their 14-point lead cut to one in the first minute of the second half, the Leopards built their lead back up to nine (62-53) on a Myles Cherry free throw at 6:48.
• The Terriers scored nine straight points over the next 1:45 with sophomore Fletcher Tynen's layup, Harper's 3-pointer, sophomore Walter Whyte's putback and Mahoney's layup to tie the game for the first time.
• Stephens retook the lead at 3:04 on a 3-pointer and kept the lead at three (69-66) with a jumper at 1:41.
• After Javante McCoy hit a layup on the next possession, Mahoney intercepted a pass from Jaworski and helped set up Walter Whyte's fastbreak layup for the team's first lead of the game.
• Kyle Stout flushed Lafayette's final 3-pointer with under 35 seconds to play before Mahoney fed Harper for the 3-point dagger on BU's final offensive possession.

THE SETUP

• Starting the game 4-of-6 from behind the arc against BU's 0-of-6 performance, the Leopards jumped out to a 13-4 lead and extended it to 23-9 at 9:19 on Cherry's layup.
• McCoy hit two free throws to help spark a 11-2 run that featured two bombs from Harper, including one at 6:40 to pull within five (25-20).
• Sophomore Jack Hemphill's tip-in at 3:02 cut the deficit to three (32-29), but the Leopards used Jarrett's dunk and three Jaworski free throws to build their lead back up to nine (41-32) at 32 seconds.
• Whyte found Mahoney underneath for a dunk and 41-34 halftime deficit.
• Whyte and sophomore Alex Vilarino opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to put Lafayette's lead at 41-40.
• The Terriers had seven opportunities over the next seven minutes to either take the lead or tie the game but were unable to get over the hump against the Leopards during that stretch.
• Jaworski's 3-pointer at 12:42 extended Lafayette's lead to 55-49, and Stephens followed up on Stouts' layup with one of his own two minutes later for the 59-51 advantage.

GAME NOTES

• Whyte tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Harper (12) and McCoy (11) combined for 23 points.
• Vilarino netted two 3-pointers in one game for the first time in his career en route to eight points.
• Following last Sunday's 69-67 win at Merrimack, BU has now won back-to-back games when trailing with under five minutes to play in regulation. 
• The Terriers overcame two 14-point deficits last season at Navy and vs. Loyola Maryland.
• BU's four-game win streak is the program's longest since the Terriers won four straight in Feb. 2017.
• BU improved to 14-7 all-time against Lafayette and 11-2 in PL regular season matchups.
• Owner of notable road wins at Saint Joseph's, Princeton, Sacred Heart and Cornell, the Leopards entered the matchup holding opponents to 42.4 FG% and 27.0 3FG%, but the Terriers went 29-of-61 (.475) and 8-of-24 (.333).

NEXT UP: AMERICAN

• The Terriers will fly south to American on Sunday (Jan. 5) for a 3 p.m. tip.
• The Eagles have won the last the four meetings, including an 84-70 home win last season.