WASHINGTON, D.C. – Utilizing a strong defensive effort, the Boston University men's basketball team completed the regular season sweep over American with a 67-52 victory at Bender Arena Wednesday night.

The Terriers (12-16, 7-8 PL) went a near-perfect 19-of-20 at the charity stripe while hitting eight 3-pointers and held the Eagles (14-14, 8-7 PL) to 35.7 percent shooting to win back-to-back games for the second time this season. BU outscored the Eagles in the paint, 24-16, off second-chance opportunities, 16-11, and in bench production, 29-10, as 13th-year head coach Joe Jones reached 300 career wins at the NCAA Division I level.

Senior Anthony Morales led all players with 17 points while adding eight rebounds and three blocks. Classmate Miles Brewster was the second Terrier in double figures at 16 points, as sophomore Nico Nobili finished one point shy of his first career double-double with a personal-best 11 rebounds.

For the Eagles, Matt Mayock netted four 3-pointers en route to 12 points, while Lincoln Ball added 10 points alongside six boards. Averaging a team-high 16.1 ppg, Matt Rogers was held to just two field goals on six attempts to finish at nine points, marking just the fourth time in 27 contests he failed to reach double figures. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nearly three minutes into the game, Nobili tipped in his own missed layup and Brewster scored on junior Ethan Okwuosa's steal to grab the lead for good, as the Terriers jumped out to a 9-2 lead on Morales' driving layup with 12:25 remaining in the half.
• Morales flushed his lone 3-pointer at 11:39 to spark in response to Mayock's trey a 14-1 run capped by two free throws from freshman Michael McNair at 6:10.
• Facing a 26-9 deficit following two of sophomore Ben Roy's free throws at 3:51, the Eagles finished the half scoring all nine points to pull within eight entering the locker room.
• Brewster started the second half on a 3-pointer, but the Eagles quickly chipped away and cut the Terriers' lead to just five, 32-27, with 17:04 remaining.
• BU though clamped down defensively and went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes with Morales netting eight of the points while also assisting on Okwuosa's 3-pointer.
• Brewster drained back-to-back treys to give BU its largest lead, 54-32, at 9:31.
• The Eagles briefly pulled within 12, 54-42, at 6:48 on Mayock's 3-pointer but would never get any closer in the loss.

GAME NOTES

• Jones earned his 214 career victory at BU after previously winning 86 at the helm at Columbia from 2003-10.
• Terriers went wire-to-wire for the second time this season, last accomplishing the feat against VTSU Johnson back in November.
• Nobili hauled in the second most rebounds this season by a Terrier, three behind sophomore Otto Landrum's total at Wagner.
• Morales earned double-digit points for the fourth time this season and eighth overall in his career.
• Brewster tied a personal-best with four 3-pointers after hitting the mark in wins over Lehigh and VTSU Johnson.
• Shooting 68.8 percent on the season at the charity stripe, BU has shot over 80 percent in five of the last seven games and over 76 percent in eight of the last nine contests.
• American's 52 points were the Eagles' fewest scored in the series since BU posted a 71-51 win eight years ago at Case Gym.
• BU improved to 15-9 all-time having won six of the last seven meetings.

UP NEXT

• BU will return home to host Loyola Maryland on Sunday (Feb. 25) at 2 p.m.
• One month prior, the Terriers overcame an 18-point deficit to win on the road against the Greyhounds, 60-58.