Anthony Morales handles the ball with a Hartford defender in front.
Meg Kelly
75
Winner Boston U. BU 2-2,0-0 Patriot
70
Hartford Hart 0-4,0-0 America East
Winner
Boston U. BU
2-2,0-0 Patriot
75
Final
70
Hartford Hart
0-4,0-0 America East
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Boston U. BU 41 34 75
Hartford Hart 25 45 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Fends Off Hartford in 75-70 Road Win

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Led by senior Walter Whyte's season-high 21 points and sophomore Anthony Morales' personal-best 18 points, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed a 75-70 win at defending America East champion Hartford on Thursday night.

Whyte and Morales went a combined 7-for-11 from behind the arc to give the Terriers (2-2) their first road win of the season, as the Hawks (0-4) fell in their first home appearance since posting a 10-1 mark last season with an NCAA tournament-berth clinching win.

Hartford whittled an 18-point deficit to one with 3:11 remaining, but Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year Javante McCoy scored seven of his 15 points down the stretch to help seal the victory. Fellow graduate student Sukhmail Mathon was the fourth player in double figures at 11 points while adding a game-high nine rebounds. Both teams shot an identical 28-for-61 from the field, but BU had four extra 3-pointers (11-7) and one more made free throw (8-7).

Hunter Marks led the Hartford comeback with 18 points, while Moses Flowers earned 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jared Kimbrough came up one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and three assists. The Hawks were held to 8-for-29 (.276) shooting in the first half but bounced back in the second at 20-for-32 (.625). 

DOWN THE STRETCH
  • After McCoy hit a pull up jumper for a 64-53 lead at 7:03, the Hawks scored 10 straight points over the next four minutes with the help of a pair of 3-pointers to pull within one, 64-63, at 3:11.
  • Following a called timeout, BU missed a 3-point attempt, but Whyte got the offensive rebound, and junior Garrett Pascoe fed McCoy for a clutch bomb to grab a 67-63 lead.
  • Kimbrough hit a hook shot on the next possession, but Mathon and McCoy scored on back-to-back layups to pull ahead, 71-65, with 1:15 left.
  • UH took advantage of a BU turnover with a 3-pointer and followed Whyte's press-breaking slam dunk with a quick layup to put BU's lead at 73-70 at 13 seconds.
  • The Terriers missed a 1-and-1, but the Hawks threw the ball away on an in-bounds with under five seconds to play, which led to McCoy's two free throws.
THE SETUP
  • Looking to bounce back from Tuesday's 49-48 loss at Northeastern in which the Terriers went 1-for-18 in 3-point territory, BU was on fire to start Thursday's matchup, as Whyte, senior Jonas Harper, Mathon and Morales combined to hit their first five attempts for a 23-9 lead at 10:32.
  • Morales added his second bucket from behind the arc to give BU a commanding 26-11 lead with 9:16 left in the half.
  • Kimbrough made his first free throw on the next possession and added a 3-pointer following an offensive rebound on his missed second attempt to key a 10-2 run capped by Flowers' two free throws at 3:45.
  • Morales responded with a pull up jumper and followed two minutes later with a 3-pointer and another jumper to finish the half with 15 points.
  • Harper's successful drive to the hoop and steal on Hartford's last possession gave BU a 41-25 halftime lead.
  • Morales' fourth and final 3-pointer on Pascoe's assist gave the Terriers their largest lead of the game, 56-38, with 12:08 remaining.
  • The Hawks turned the ball over on their next possession but converted on BU's turnover with a slam dunk to spark a 7-0 spurt. 
  • Whyte pushed BU's lead back to 13 at 9:11 (60-47) on two free throws and then at 8:28 (62-49) before the Hawks began their comeback.
GAME NOTES
  • Becoming the first Terrier to score at least 20 points this season, Whyte is now just 34 points away from becoming the 40th Terrier to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
  • Morales became the fourth Terrier to reach double figures this season and the eighth overall Terrier on the roster.
  • McCoy is just 21 points away from tying Chaz Carr ('05) for No. 12 all-time in the BU record book at 1,406 career points.
  • BU improved to 46-22 all-time against the Hawks and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with its first visit to UH since leaving the America East for the Patriot League in the summer of 2013.
  • UH outscored BU off turnovers, 21-11, and in the paint, 38-26, but the Terriers owned a 15-13 advantage in second-chance opportunities and 21-14 lead in bench production. 
UP NEXT
  • The Terriers will next fly south for The Jacksonville Classic by Fabletics and open up against Northern Illinois on Sunday (Nov. 21) at 12 p.m. with North Florida serving as host.
  • Coincidentally, the teams' first-ever meeting also took place in Florida back in 1999 with the Huskies claiming a 78-65 win at a tournament hosted by Florida International.

 
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