Walter Whyte dribbles the ball up the court at Army.
69
Boston U. BU 15-17,8-10 Patriot
71
Winner Army West Point ARM 17-15,10-8 Patriot
Boston U. BU
15-17,8-10 Patriot
69
Final
71
Army West Point ARM
17-15,10-8 Patriot
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Boston U. BU 32 27 10 69
Army West Point ARM 36 23 12 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Army West Point Outlasts Men's Basketball in Overtime Quarterfinal Thriller, 71-69

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Opening the PenFed Credit Union Patriot League Championship, the No. 5 seed Boston University men's basketball team came up just short at No. 4 Army West Point in a quarterfinal overtime thriller, 71-69.

Boosted by three critical offensive rebounds in the final 80 seconds of regulation, the Black Knights (17-15) finished with a 26-7 advantage in free throw attempts to help eliminate the Terriers (15-17) after the squads recorded a regular season split with the road team winning the first two contests.
 
Graduate student and four-time All-PL honoree Walter Whyte posted 18 points and a career-tying 13 rebounds for his 21st career double-double, while classmate and three-time PL All-Defensive Team member Jonas Harper posted 13 points. Fellow graduate student Fletcher Tynen added 11 points alongside seven boards, and junior Anthony Morales posted nine of BU's 21 bench points.

Army only had one bench point, but it didn't matter, as 2023 All-PL First Team honoree Laen Rucker posted 32 points and three assists. Coleton Benson flushed three 3-pointers to give the Black Knights an early 10-point lead and went a perfect 7-of-7 at the charity stripe en route to 16 points. Abe Johnson came off the bench with 11 rebounds.

DOWN THE STRETCH
  • Harper banked a jumper for a 59-52 lead with 2:21 remaining in regulation, but the Terriers missed their final three shots, as the Black Knights rallied to force OT.
  • First, Charlie Peterson scored on a layup with the bonus free throw and then later grabbed an offensive rebound while being fouled after BU missed a 3-point attempt.
  • Peterson missed the 1-and-1, but Army was fouled again on the rebound attempt and pulled within 59-56 at 1:18.
  • After the Terriers missed a contested jumper in the paint, Army missed a 3-point shot, but TJ Small grabbed the offensive rebound and fouled Rucker for the game-tying 3-pointer.
  • Whyte had an opportunity to win the game before the buzzer sounded but did not get a favorable bounce on the contested jumper.
  • In OT, Whyte scored on a putback for a 64-61 lead at 2:19 before Rucker tied the game again on a layup and bonus free throw.
  • After the teams exchanged defensive stops, the Terriers turned the ball over, and Rucker made BU pay with another layup at 1:03.
  • Converting on a defensive stop with two free throws at 25 seconds, Rucker went just 1-of-2 at the charity strip with 15 seconds remaining following senior Ethan Brittain-Watts layup.
  • The Terriers though missed a game-tying 3-point attempt, and Rucker sealed the win with two more free throws.
THE SETUP
  • After Benson started the game with two 3-pointers and three free throws, Chris Mann followed Rucker's trey with a steal and layup for 14-4 advantage at 16:01.
  • The Terriers scored eight quick points but then found themselves down, 22-15, at 9:56 on Mann's second layup.
  • Facing a 31-26 deficit following Benson's 3-pointer, Tynen and Whyte scored from behind the arc to grab a 32-31 advantage at 2:56.
  • Ethan Roberts converted on an Army steal with his own trey, and Benson added two free throws to enter the locker room ahead, 36-32.
  • After Peterson started the second half with a layup, the Terriers scored seven straight points and momentarily built the lead to 48-42 at 10:35 on Morales' 3-pointer.
  • Whyte's fourth 3-pointer gave BU its largest lead of the game, 57-50, with 3:00 remaining in regulation.
GAME NOTES
  • Whyte moved up to No. 6 all-time in points with 1,696, while moving into a tie-for-ninth at 192 career 3-pointers. He also ends his career fourth at 836 career rebounds.
  • Ranking second all-time at 149 appearances behind Sukhmail Mathon's ('22) 151, Harper moved up to No. 26 at 1,132 points and finished fifth at 221 3-pointers. He also ended the season with 150 steals, ninth most in the program record book.
  • The Terriers suffered their first loss of the season when leading with five minutes to go in regulation, dropping to 14-1.
  • BU ended the year 1-2 in overtime contests and was eliminated in a conference tournament in OT for the second consecutive year after coming up short at Navy in the 2022 semifinals, 85-80.
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