NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Down by as many as 15 points early in the second half, the Boston University men's basketball team staged a furious rally to pull within one possession on multiple occasions in the final minutes before ultimately coming up short at Merrimack, 64-61.

With their fourth consecutive win, the Warriors improve to 5-6, as the Terriers (5-6) saw their attempt for a three-game win streak halted in part by a 5-for-11 performance at the charity stripe.

Senior Malcolm Chimezie led BU with 14 points, while freshman Ben Defty tallied 10 points. Junior Otto Landrum dished out a career-high seven assists, and graduate student Miles Brewster combined with sophomore Kyrone Alexander for 16 points alongside 13 rebounds.

Three Warriors finished in double figures with preseason All-MAAC honoree Adam Clark coming up just short of a double-double at 18 points and eight assists. Sean Trumper claimed 12 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Bryan Etumnu totaled 10 points with the help of two clutch 3-pointers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Merrimack jumped out to an 11-0 lead behind three 3-pointers, as Trumper started the game with a trey and ended the run on a layup at 14:58.
• Down by as many as 13, Landrum found sophomore Michael McNair for a bucket from behind the arc to cut the deficit to seven (26-19) at 3:02.
• The Warriors drained their fourth 3-pointer on the next possession but would not add another point the rest of the half to enter the locker room ahead, 29-21.
• After Brewster started the second half with a 3-pointer, the teams exchanged two buckets apiece to put the score at 33-28 at 18:03.
• The Warriors then scored 10 straight points over the next four minutes to grab their largest lead of the game, 43-28.
• Facing a 53-41 deficit, Landrum scored a putback to spark a 9-0 spurt capped by McNair's 3-pointer at 5:37.
• After Merrimack netted another 3-pointer, Brewster followed Alexander's layup with a 3-pointer of his own to pull within one, 56-55.
• Savage though responded in kind from behind the arc at 4:02, and Etumnu later matched Alexander's trey at 1:41 to grb a 62-58 advantage.
• After a called timeout, Alexander hit a floating jumper and helped the defense earn a stop on Clark's missed jumper.
• Looking to grab the lead facing a 62-60 deficit with 31 seconds left, BU missed a pair of contested 3-point attempts but managed to draw a shooting foul after grabbing the second offensive rebound.
• The Terriers though only went 1-of-2 from the free throw line, and the Warriors sealed the victory with two free throws at the 3-second mark.

GAME NOTES

• Chimezie matched his season high in points set previously during the season opener against Northeastern.
• Defty has now gone three straight games with double-digit point totals, shooting a combined 15-for-19 (.789) in the paint.
• Landrum topped his previous high of four assists and is the third Terrier to record seven helpers this season, joining McNair (vs. Northeastern) and junior Ben Roy (vs. Thomas).
• Brewster tied his career high in rebounds with seven total after reaching the mark in each of the previous two seasons.
• The Terriers outscored Merrimack in the paint, 32-22, and in second-chance opportunities, 17-7, but the Warriors owned a 9-6 advantage in made 3-pointers and 7-5 edge in free throws.
• BU shot 51.6 FG% and 41.7 3FG% in the second half after shooting 39.1 FG% and 12.5 3FG% in the first. Merrimack though aslo improved on the first half percentages with 50.0 FG% and 55.6 3FG% during the last 20 minutes of action.
• The Warriors earned their first win against BU with three of the last five meetings being decided by a combined six points.

UP NEXT

• BU will next focus on finals and then head to UMass Lowell on Saturday, Dec. 21, for a 2 p.m. tip.
• The River Hawks have won the last two meetings with a 71-63 road victory last year and 68-60 home decision in 2022.