BOSTON - Trailing Bucknell by as many as nine points in the second half, the Boston University men's basketball team stormed back to force overtime and earn an 85-82 victory on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.

With their sixth straight home victory, the Terriers improve to 10-11 and 4-4 in Patriot League play, while the Bison drop to 8-13 (4-4 PL) with a 3-4 mark in OT games. Bucknell outscored BU in the paint, 38-24, but the Terriers flushed four more 3-pointers (11-7) and more than tripled the Bison in second-chance points, 21-6, thanks to a 14-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Arguably the biggest stat of the game was BU shooting 18-of-21 (.857) from the charity stripe, including 8-of-8 during the last five minutes, after entering the contest ranked 349th nationally at 62.5 FT%.

Six different Terriers scored in double figures, led by sophomore Kyrone Alexander's 16 points. Classmate Michael McNair and freshman Azmar Abdullah each had 12 points, followed by graduate student Miles Brewster and junior Otto Landrum with 11 points apiece and junior Nico Nobili at 10 points. Landrum was a rebound shy of a double-double to help the Terriers win the battle at the boards, 35-22, while junior Ben Roy dished out a game-high four assists.

Noah Williamson totaled a game-high 26 points for Bucknell, while Josh Bascoe recorded 16 points alongside four assists and three steals. Ruot Bijiek was the third Bison in double figures at 12 points. Bucknell shot 60.4 FG% in regulation but was limited to just one made field off four attempts during the extra session to finish at 57.7 FG% for the loss. 

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Facing a 74-70 deficit with under a minute to play in regulation, Brewster drove to the hoop for a layup and helped BU earn a defensive stop, as the Bison missed a contested 3-point attempt.
• Landrum then tied the game off a feed from Alexander with 12.1 seconds remaining and guarded the hoop against Bascoe's ensuing layup attempt to send the game to OT.
• BU never trailed over the final five minutes, thanks to Miles Brewster opening with a 3-pointer and senior Malcolm Chimezie knocking down two free throws to make it 79-74 at 3:30.
• Down but not out, Bucknell tied the game with five free throws across three separate trips to the line, but junior Nico Nobili's two free throws with 1:03 to go restored the Terriers' advantage.
• Alexander extended the lead following Williamson's missed jumper with two more free throws at 5.2 seconds.
• Brandon McCreesh managed to hit a deep acrobatic 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left, but BU was able to avoid a turnover and find Brewster on the in-bounds pass to seal the victory with a pair of free throws. 

THE SETUP

• Though the first half featured three lead changes, BU only led for a combined 21 seconds during the first 20 minutes of action.
• Alexander opened the game with a 3-pointer, and McNair drained his first of four at 17:04 for the early 8-7 edge.
• Williamson responded with an offensive rebound and layup that sparked an 11-0 run capped by Jayden Williams' trey at 13:57
• Williamson gave the Bison their largest lead of the game, 26-15, on a 3-pointer with 9:59 left.
• Five different Terriers though scored over the next three minutes as part of a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one point.
• Alexander eventually tied the game on a 3-pointer, 34-34, at 1:37, but the Bison scored the last five points on a jumper and 3-pointer to grab the five-point halftime lead.
• Leading by as many as nine points (57-48) in the second half on Achile Spadone's layup at 11:55, Williams hit two free throws a minute later for a 61-53 lead that quickly vanished.
• McNair netted two buckets from behind the arc to tie the game, 61-61, with 8:31 left in regulation.
• The teams traded blows the rest of the second half with Brandon McCreesh driving to the hoop for a 74-70 lead at 1:38 to set up the thrilling comeback from the Terriers.

GAME NOTES

• The Terriers are now 2-0 in OT games this season and 4-1 over the last two years. 
• BU now owns six victories when trailing with five minutes remaining in regulation after earning only two wins a year ago.
• By totaling 11 points, Landrum became the 10th Terrier this season to reach double digits in points.
• McNair drained at least four 3-pointers in a game for the fifth time this season.
• BU had six Terriers score 10+ points for the second time following an earlier win back in December against Thomas College (113-75).
• With Bucknell shooting 57.7 FG% and holding the Terriers to 47.5 FG%, BU earned multiple victories for the second consecutive year when posting a lower field goal shooting percentage.
• BU recorded its first victory of the season when allowing 80+ points after going 1-2 last year.
• The Terriers' six-game home win streak is the team's longest since the 2019-20 squad reached the mark. The 2010-11 America East championship team was the last one to have a longer home win streak at nine contests to end its season.
• BU cut Bucknell's lead in the series to 15-13, as the programs battled to their second-ever OT. The Terriers won the first one on the road back in 2008 with a 71-68 decision.

UP NEXT

• The Terriers will have a quick turnaround and host Holy Cross on Monday (Jan. 27) as part of a Turnpike Trophy doubleheader at Case Gym.
• The women will first face off at 4 p.m. with the men following at 7 p.m.
• Both contests will be shown live on CBS Sports Network.
• Last season, the BU men recorded a split against the Crusaders with both home teams prevailing.