BOSTON - Senior Max Mahoney (17 pts., 10 reb.) and sophomore Walter Whyte (16 pts., 10 reb.) both notched double-doubles to lead the third-seeded Boston University men's basketball team to a wire-to-wire 64-61 victory over seventh-seeded Bucknell in a Patriot League semifinal on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym.

BU (20-13) never trailed en route to securing a spot in the Patriot League title game against top-seeded Colgate on Wednesday night with the CBS Sports Network broadcast slated for 7:30 p.m. The Raiders kept their title defense hopes alive with an 89-64 home win over No. 5 Lafayette.

The Terriers reached 20 wins for the 15th time in program history thanks to an outstanding first half and a resilient second stanza in which they withstood an early 13-4 run by Bucknell (14-20), who had reached the previous three PL title games. BU dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bison, 34-18, including 11-3 at the offensive end.

Junior Javante McCoy also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points and dishing out a career-tying eight of the Terriers' 15 assists. Mahoney was 6-of-9 from the floor and while also chipping in five assists and two steals. Whyte was 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Mahoney and Whyte both notched a double-double for the third time this season

This will be the Terriers' second appearance in a Patriot League championship game and their first since 2014. BU, seeking its seventh conference title and first since the 2011 America East crown, is the first No. 3 seed to reach a Patriot League title tilt since Lehigh in 2017.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Terriers hit their first five shots and started the game 6-of-7 from the field, including a 4-of-5 performance from beyond the arc, to grab a 16-6 lead just 4:41 into the proceedings.
• Avi Toomer hit a three and then added two free throws to get Bucknell within seven at 20-13 with 9:54 on the clock, but BU went on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes thanks to four points apiece from Mahoney and Whyte.
• Bucknell put together back-to-back possessions with a made field goal just once in the first half, as the Terriers held the Bison to just 8-of-25 shooting (32%) in the opening 20 minutes.
• Jimmy Sotos gave Bucknell momentum with a deep three at the buzzer to cut the Terriers' lead to 35-22 at halftime.
• Whyte finished the first half with 10 points and eight rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting while McCoy tallied eight points and had five assists.
• Bucknell started the second half on a 13-4 run, but BU answered with a quick 6-0 run of its own to push its lead back to 10 at 45-35 with 15:07 to play.
• Mahoney factored on every one of the Terriers' first 10 points of the second stanza, scoring eight of them in addition to an assist on an emphatic Whyte dunk at the end of ithe spurt.
• The Bison knocked down three more triples to get within five, 51-46, with 11:37 remaining, but McCoy and White answered right back with four straight points to get the lead back to nine.
• After sophomore Jonas Harper hit a 3-pointer with 6:20 to go that re-established a 10-point lead at 62-52, the Bison went on a 7-0 run to force a Terrier timeout with 2:08 to play and BU holding a 62-59 edge, its first one-possession lead since 17:51 of the opening half.
• Bucknell got a stop out of that timeout, but Andrew Funk missed a game-tying shot and McCoy drove to the hoop for a layup on the ensuing trip down the floor to make it 64-59 with 1:02 remaining.
• Toomer made a layup with 43 seconds to go to once again cut the lead to three, and after Bucknell made a stand on defense, the Bison had the ball with 13 seconds left, but Toomer missed a contested 3-pointer to even the score and Bucknell was forced to foul with two seconds on the clock.
• Mahoney missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but a last-ditch effort from beyond half court didn't connect and the Terriers held on for the win.

GAME NOTES

• Mahoney became the fourth Terrier to reach 1,500 career points and 700 rebounds alongside Paul Hendricks ('87), Tunji Awojobi ('97) and John Holland ('11).
• Mahoney recorded his fifth straight double-double against Bucknell and his fifth double-double over the last six games this season.
• Mahoney moved past Hendricks for No. 7 all-time in points at 1,541 while moving up to No. 9 in rebounds at 700 total.
• Whyte earned his eighth double-double of the season and his third in four games.
• He has reached double figures in scoring in 11 straight contests and has averaged 15.8 ppg over his last six games.
• BU improved to 17-8 all-time in semifinal games and will be making its first appearance in a title game as the No. 3 seed since advancing that far in 1987.
• The Terriers are now 12-3 (.800) at home for their best winning percentage since finishing 12-2 (.857) in the 2010-11 season.
• Securing its first three-game sweep over an opponent since 2014, BU is now 8-13 all-time against Bucknell, having won four of the last five contests.

NEXT UP: COLGATE

• BU will head to Hamilton, New York, on Wednesday (March 11) for a 7:30 p.m. tip against the Raiders on the CBS Sports Network.
• The Raiders swept this year's regular season matchups - 79-70 at home and then 79-63 at Case Gym.
• BU and Colgate will meet for the third time ever in a postseason tournament with the Terriers winning first in the 1990 North Atlantic Conference semifinals (85-63) and the Raiders prevailing last season during the Patriot League quarterfinals, 81-69.
• The Terriers had a 37-28 halftime lead and extended it to 12 early in the second but were outscored, 53-32, over the final 20 minutes for the loss.