BOSTON – Trailing by as many as 18 points late in the first half, the Boston University men's basketball team stormed back to defeat American, 64-60, Sunday afternoon at Case Gym in front of a national audience on the CBS Sports Network.
The Terriers (17-12, 11-5 PL) claimed sole possession of second place in the Patriot League standings and clinched a home quarterfinal contest by limiting the Eagles (14-13, 10-6 PL) to just 34.6 percent shooting in the second half. Senior
Max Mahoney was outstanding in the paint for BU, posting his seventh double-double of the season thanks to 15 points and 13 rebounds while adding a team-high three assists. Sophomore
Walter Whyte was the other player to reach double figures in points (14), as he fell one rebound shy of his third straight double-double.
Named to the Preseason All-PL team alongside Mahoney, American's Sa'eed Nelson tallied 21 points, eight steals, five rebounds and three assists, while Mark Gasperini and Connor Nelson combined for 19 points and 14 boards. The Terriers out-rebounded the Eagles, 29-13, in the second half, including a 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass, to help pull off their largest comeback since overcoming an early 18-point deficit in a 73-62 win at Maine on Jan. 25, 2009.
DOWN THE STRETCH
- After Gasperini went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe for 47-39 lead with 11:08 remaining in regulation, Whyte converted on an offensive rebound putback to spark an 18-4 run capped by freshman Ethan Brittain-Watts' layup at 5:01.
- Now facing a 57-51 deficit, Sa'eed Nelson swiped the ball away twice to set up his own layups and then netted a third while being fouled to help cut BU's lead to 59-58 at 2:17.
- Continuing BU's stellar play on the glass, sophomore Fletcher Tynen followed up on Mahoney's missed layup attempt with a tip-in for the 61-58 advantage at 1:57.
- Brittain-Watts made good on Whyte's second steal of the game with a buzzer-beating jumper after initially being blocked by Sa'eed Nelson, who responded with a layup to put the score at 63-60 with under 45 seconds remaining.
- After BU missed a 3-point attempt, Connor Nelson missed one as well, leading to a free throw by Whyte that helped seal the victory.
THE SETUP
- Sophomore Jonas Harper opened the contest with a 3-pointer, and junior Javante McCoy hit a layup shortly thereafter to give BU its final lead of the half, 5-4, with 17:11 remaining.
- After sophomore Jack Hemphill scored from behind the arc at 11:46 to cut BU's deficit to 18-15, Jamir Harris drained one in response, as the Eagles went on a 15-2 run capped by Connor Nelson's bomb at 6:12.
- Stacy Beckton Jr. added AU's sixth trey to grab the 38-20 lead with 3:15 remaining.
- BU scored six of the final eight points of the half, including a fastbreak layup by Vilarino that was set up by Tynen's block on Beckton Jr.'s layup attempt.
- Facing a 40-26 halftime deficit, the Terriers limited the Eagles to just two buckets in the first eight minutes of the second half and pulled within six (44-38) when Mahoney found junior Andrew Petcash for a 3-pointer at 12:44.
GAME NOTES
- Ninth-year head coach Joe Jones' previous largest deficit in a victory with the Terriers was 17 points (46-29) in a thrilling 81-78 come-from-behind victory at Albany on Feb. 6, 2012.
- Mahoney is now 20 points away from the 1,500-point milestone, while McCoy is two away from 1,000.
- Mahoney earned his sixth double-double of the season and 15th overall, while Whyte claimed his eighth.
- The Terriers snapped a five-game losing streak to American and improved to 10-8 in the series.
NEXT UP: LEHIGH
- With two games remaining in the regular season, BU will next head to Lehigh for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday (Feb. 26).
- The Terrriers won the first meeting at home, 84-67, back on Jan. 8 and will be seeking their fourth sweep of the season.
