Terriers Reach 20 Wins with Hot-Shooting Second Half in 76-60 Victory over Lafayette

Wednesday, February 23

Boston, MA

7 PM

Boston University

20-10,11-6Patriot

Lafayette

10-18,7-10Patriot

Lafayette

Boston U.

Photo by: Matt Woolverton

Terriers Reach 20 Wins with Hot-Shooting Second Half in 76-60 Victory over Lafayette

February 23, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights, Coach Quinn/Brittain-Watts Postgame Coach Jones Postgame

BOSTON – Led by graduate student Javante McCoy's game-high 24 points and classmate Sukhmail Mathon's 15th double-double of the season, the Boston University men's basketball team rolled to a 76-60 victory over Lafayette on Wednesday night at Case Gym.

The Terriers (20-10, 11-6 PL) overcame a two-point halftime deficit by shooting 67.9 percent from the field in the second half to reach 20 wins for the second time in three years and 16th season overall. The Leopards (10-18, 7-10 PL) went 5-of-11 from behind the arc during the first 20 minutes of action but managed just two treys off 12 attempts during the final 20, as BU claimed its third Patriot League series sweep of the year.

McCoy went 10-of-15 and added three assists alongside two steals, while Mathon recorded 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior Ethan Brittain-Watts contributed a personal-best 13 points to help BU improve to 11-0 when outscoring an opponent's bench (17-8), and senior Jonas Harper matched his efforts with three 3-pointers en route to 11 points. Freshman Malcolm Chimeze hauled in eight boards in just 11 minutes to help BU out-rebound Lafayette, 36-26.

Tyrone Perry led Lafayette with 16 points, while Kyle Jenkins contributed 13 points. Neal Quinn was the third Leopard in double figures at 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Lafayette finished the game 23-of-56 (.397) after shooting 56 percent each of the last two games against Bucknell and Holy Cross.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams traded back-and-forth blows early on with Brittain-Watts driving to the hoop to tie the game, 13-13, at 13:31.
Leo O'Boyle responded with a jumper to spark a 13-3 run capped by Chris Rubayo's steal and Tomas Verbinskis' layup at 7:59.
Facing a 31-21 deficit, McCoy flushed a 3-pointer on Mathon's offensive rebound and later tied the game, 31-31, at 1:23 on a jumper.
After BU missed a 1-and-1, Perry drive to the hoop to beat the buzzer with a layup to push the Leopards ahead, 33-31.
The Terriers briefly took the lead early in the second before CJ Fulton tied the game on a floater, 37-37, at 15:04.
Brittain-Watts gave BU the lead for good by netting a 3-pointer, swiping the ball away and converting on a layup, as the Terriers went on a 15-3 run capped by McCoy's jumper at 11:51.
The Leopards scored five straight in response but never got any closer, as Harper set up Brittain-Watts' 3-pointer for a 62-47 advantage at 8:15 and later hit one of his own at 2:40 to extend the lead to 74-57 at 2:40.
McCoy's jumper with 2:04 remaining gave the Terriers their largest lead of the game, 76-58.

GAME NOTES

BU has now recorded 20+ wins three times under head coach Joe Jones, previously posting 21-13 record in 2019-20 (PL tournament title) and 24-11 mark in 2013-14 (PL regular season title).
McCoy moved up to No. 4 all-time in the BU record book at 1,827 career points.
Mathon became the first Terrier since BU Hall of Famer Tunji Awojobi ('97) to have at least 300 rebounds in a season and now has 306 total, eighth most at BU. He currently ranks third at BU and 10th in the PL with 824 career boards.
Mathon just need needs five more points to become the third active and 41st overall Terrier to reach 1,000 points alongside McCoy and Whyte (1,189 pts.).
Brittain-Watts scored in double figures for the second time in his career, previously tallying 11 against Navy this season.
The Terriers shot over 55 percent for the third time this season and are now 9-0 when shooting at least 50 percent.
BU went 10-of-18 (.556) in 3-point territory while holding Lafayette to 7-of-23 (.304)
Lafayette claimed 15 steals against BU's seven but only outscored the Terriers off turnovers, 19-18.
The Terriers are now 18-8 all-time in the series, extending the win streak to four games.

UP NEXT

BU will end the regular season at Bucknell on Saturday (Feb. 26) with a 2 p.m. start time.
The Terriers opened PL play and 2022 with a 63-61 home win back on Jan. 1.