BOSTON – Boosted by senior Miles Brewster's career-high 21-point performance and 11 combined 3-pointers, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed a 72-68 home victory against American Wednesday night at Case Gym.

The Terriers (6-10, 1-2 PL) shot 50 percent from the field with eight 3-pointers and 12-of-14 at the charity stripe during the second half to hand the Eagles (8-8, 2-1 PL) their first conference loss.

Brewster flushed three 3-pointers and added three assists alongside two steals on his way to becoming the first Terrier to reach 20+ points this season. Freshman Spencer Joyner came off the bench for a season-high 12 points, while sophomore Nico Nobili, junior Ethan Okwuosa and sophomore Ben Roy all had seven points apiece. Freshman Matai Baptiste hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, and sophomore Otto Landrum dished out four assists.

Elijah Stephens matched Brewster with 21 points while adding five assists, five steals and four rebounds. Preseason All-PL member Matt Rogers was two rebounds shy of a double-double with 18 points. Lorenzo Donadio added nine points and six rebounds. 

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Down by as many as seven early in the second half, Landrum fed freshman Kyrone Alexander for a 3-pointer and the Terriers' largest lead of the game, 67-60, with 3:26 remaining.
• Rogers came right back with a layup on the next possession, but both teams would then commit a turnover and miss a shot attempt from behind the arc.
• After Okwuosa pushed BU's lead back to seven, 69-62, at 1:32, the Eagles hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull within one, 69-68, with34 seconds remaining.
• AU tried to force a turnover and then at the 17-second mark fouled Brewster, who drained both free throw attempts to move ahead, 71-68.
• The Eagles missed a contested 3-point attempt with 10 seconds remaining, and Okwuosa sealed the victory with a free throw.

THE SETUP

• The first half featured six lead changes and seven ties with neither team leading by as many as four points.
• Brewster and Okwuosa started the game with layups, but Stephens responded with a 3-pointer, steal and layup to give AU its first lead, 5-4, at 15:34.
• Rogers broke a 5-5 deadlock with a trey at 13:33 before Roy and freshman Michael McNair netted back-to-back layups, as the squads went on to trade blows the rest of the half.
• Helped by 3-pointers from Joyner and Brewster, BU grabbed a 24-20 advantage with 2:55 remaining.
• Stephens came back with two free throws and later found Rogers for a layup on the Eagles' final possession to enter the locker room tied, 26-26.
• AU started the second half on a 9-2 spurt behind three 3-pointers and flushed its fourth straight attempt at 16:20 to maintain the seven-point lead, 40-33.
• Facing a 50-43 deficit with 11:29 remaining, Joyner drained his second trey to spark a 15-2 run capped by back-to-back Morales 3-pointers over the next 4:40.
• After Rogers cut BU's lead to 62-59 at 4:36, Brewster drove to the hoop for a layup, and Alexander later responded to Stephens' free throw with a 3-pointer at 3:26. 

GAME NOTES

• Brewster scored in double digits for the fifth time in six contests and finished with 17+ for the third time in five games, as he became the first Terrier to score 20+ points this season.
• Baptiste's seven rebounds topped his previous high of five boards set in the season opener at Northeastern.
• BU outscored the Eagles in bench production, 27-12, and in second-chance opportunities, 14-9.
• AU was held below 44 percent shooting for just the sixth time this season.
• BU improved to 14-9 all-time with its fifth win in six contests against the Eagles.

UP NEXT

• The Terriers will next visit Loyola Maryland on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 5 p.m.
• BU leads the all-time series, 17-7, with a four-game win streak.
• BU is 5-6 on the road after overcoming a 46-34 halftime deficit for a 68-67 victory last February.