ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Concluding a two-game road trip, the Boston University men's basketball team dropped a 62-47 decision at Navy Wednesday night.

The Terriers (9-11, 3-4 PL) mounted a serious rally, cutting a 20-point early second-half deficit to seven with 8:11 remaining in regulation. However, an off night from behind the arc proved to be too much to overcome against the Midshipmen (6-14, 3-4 PL), who improved to 5-4 at home. BU shot 5-of-23 (.217) in 3-point territory, and Navy finished 9-of-18 (.500).

Freshman Azmar Abdullah tied a personal best with a game-high 21 points off the bench, and graduate student Miles Brewster reached double digits in points as well at 11 total. The duo went a combined 11-for-23 (.478), while the rest of the squad finished 5-of-29 (.172). 

Austin Benigni tallied 21 points with the help of an 11-of-12 performance at the charity stripe to lead Navy in scoring. Both Jinwoo Kim and Jordan Pennick recorded 13 points apiece with a combined seven 3-pointers. On the defensive front, Donovan Draper and Aidan Kehoe combined for 15 rebounds and three blocks, as the Midshipmen won the battle at the boards, 35-29, to help nearly triple BU in second-chance points, 11-4.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Benigni started the game with one of Navy's six 3-pointers and Jordan Pennick later hit a jumper at 16:08 for an early 8-2 lead.
• The Terriers chipped away and eventually tied the game, 12-12, with the help of junior Nico Nobili's two 3-pointers at 9:44.
• Jinwoo Kim however quickly retook the lead with a 3-pointer on the next possession.
• After Azmar Abdullah flushed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 22-17 at 5:24, the Midshipmen finished the half on an 11-2 run that included two Pennick 3-pointers.
• Navy started the second with back-to-back treys to extend their lead to 39-19 and added another 3-pointer at 14:39 for the 44-25 advantage.
• Abdullah though drew a foul attempting a shot from behind the arc and flushed all three attempts at the line to spark a 17-5 run capped by his 3-pointer at 8:11.
• The Terriers had an opportunity to draw even closer but missed their last seven 3-point attempts for the loss, as Navy went 10-of-13 in the second half at the line to help halt the comeback.

GAME NOTES

• Abdullah earned BU's sixth 20+ point performance of the season after tallying 21 points against Howard back in November at the UMBC multi-team event.
• Sophomore Kyrone Alexander dished out three assists and added a block alongside six points and four rebounds.
• The Terriers committed 11 of their 14 turnovers in the first half and forced Navy into 16 miscues to outscore the Mids off turnovers, 15-8.
• BU was held below 60 points in January for the third time with all three performances coming on the road, as the Terriers dropped to 0-4 in road PL games.
• Navy earned its fifth straight home victory in the series to cut BU's lead to 14-12. The Mids also collected their second win against Boston area schools after starting the season with a victory against Harvard.

UP NEXT

• Riding a five-game home win streak, BU will return to Case Gym to host Bucknell on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 1 p.m. and then Holy Cross on Monday (Jan. 27) at 7 p.m.
• The Terriers last season recorded a series split against both squads.