Terriers Triumph in 75-74 Back-And-Forth Thriller Over Harvard
November 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – In a thrilling back-and-forth contest that featured 15 lead changes during the second half, the Boston University men's basketball team triumphed over Harvard, 75-74, at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame hosted by the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday afternoon.
Freshman Chance Gladden drove to the hoop for the game's final bucket with four seconds remaining and the defense forced a tough shot from Harvard (4-3) near the baseline to help the Terriers (3-3) claim their second one-point win of the season. Both squads shot over 54 percent with BU recording a higher percentage from the field (30-48, .625) and in 3-point territory (11-21, .524) than at the charity stripe (4-for-8, .500).
Six Terriers tallied nine or more points with Gladden leading the way at a season-high 20 points by shooting 8-for-12 from the field. Sophomore Ben Defty totaled 16 points, and graduate student Ethan Okwuosa added 10 alongside a game-high five rebounds in his first action since the Nov. 7 contest at Northwestern. Junior Michael McNair finished with nine points, four assists and four steals, while senior Ben Roy added nine points, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Azmar Abdullah contributed nine points and three assists off the bench.
Robert Hinton led the Crimson, scoring 34 points with the help of four 3-pointers, while Tey Barbour and Thomas Batties II combined for 29 points. Batties also contributed six assists, and Ben Eisendrath recorded nine assists alongside three steals. Harvard outscored BU off turnovers, 25-14, and in second-chance points, 7-5, but BU posted a 19-4 advantage in bench production and earned an 11-9 lead in made 3-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freshman Chance Gladden drove to the hoop for the game's final bucket with four seconds remaining and the defense forced a tough shot from Harvard (4-3) near the baseline to help the Terriers (3-3) claim their second one-point win of the season. Both squads shot over 54 percent with BU recording a higher percentage from the field (30-48, .625) and in 3-point territory (11-21, .524) than at the charity stripe (4-for-8, .500).
Six Terriers tallied nine or more points with Gladden leading the way at a season-high 20 points by shooting 8-for-12 from the field. Sophomore Ben Defty totaled 16 points, and graduate student Ethan Okwuosa added 10 alongside a game-high five rebounds in his first action since the Nov. 7 contest at Northwestern. Junior Michael McNair finished with nine points, four assists and four steals, while senior Ben Roy added nine points, three assists and two steals. Sophomore Azmar Abdullah contributed nine points and three assists off the bench.
Robert Hinton led the Crimson, scoring 34 points with the help of four 3-pointers, while Tey Barbour and Thomas Batties II combined for 29 points. Batties also contributed six assists, and Ben Eisendrath recorded nine assists alongside three steals. Harvard outscored BU off turnovers, 25-14, and in second-chance points, 7-5, but BU posted a 19-4 advantage in bench production and earned an 11-9 lead in made 3-pointers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Barbour started the contest with a 3-pointer to help the Crimson jump out to an early 7-1 lead, but Hughes responded with a jumper to spark a 10-4 spurt capped by Gladden's 3-pointer at 14:22.
- The Crimson increased their lead to six points (23-17) on a putback, but BU came right back with a 12-4 run ending with Gladden's jumper at 3:20 to grab its first lead of the game, 29-27.
- Harvard retook the lead on Batties' 3-pointer at 2:09 and responded to Abdullah's trey with its sixth bucket from behind the arc to enter the locker room leading, 35-32.
- Batties started the second half on a layup, and Hinton converted on Chandler Pigge's steal with a layup to grab the Crimson's largest lead of the game, 39-32, with 18:14 remaining in regulation.
- BU though quickly scored seven points, highlighted by Okwuosa's 3-point bucket, for the first of eight ties over the final 17 minutes.
- Gladden briefly gave the Terriers their first lead in the second half on a 3-pointer, 51-50, at 12:44.
- Eventually, Defty fed Gladden for a slam dunk and BU's largest lead, 63-69, with 6:24 left, but Hinton responded with two layups and an assist on Batties' layup at 4:55.
- The teams traded blows the rest of the contest with neither team leading by more than one for the final three minutes of action.
- After Okwuosa hit a floater at 1:41 for 73-72 lead, BU earned a defensive stop but missed a jumper as the shot clock expired with 39 seconds left.
- Hinton scored under the basket to retake the lead on the next possession, but Gladden had the last word following a called timeout by driving to the hoop and hitting a layup.
- Pigge missed the game's final field goal attempt, and Okwuosa hauled in the rebound to prevent a potential putback for the victory.
- The Terriers finished over 60 percent from the field for the first time since shooting 30-for-47 (.638) in a 76-64 win vs. Loyola Maryland back on March 3, 2022.
- Gladden became the fourth Terrier to reach 20+ points this season after McNair (2x), Defty and Hughes previously accomplished the feat.
- Making just his fourth appearance since the start of the 2024-25 campaign due to injury, Okwuosa scored in double figures for the first time since scoring 11 at Lehigh on Feb. 28, 2024.
- BU has drained at least 11 3-pointers in three of the last four games with the help of 18+ assists in each of those contests.
- Facing Harvard for the first time since the 2017-18 season, BU snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with its fifth-ever one-point victory against the Crimson with the last win occurring on the road back on Dec. 3, 2008.
- The teams met on a neutral court for the first time since battling one another at the 1970 Beanpot hosted by the old Boston Garden.
- The Terriers will visit their second Big Ten opponent of the season when they head to Penn State on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip.
- PSU and BU will meet for the first time in 42 years with the Terriers leading the all-time series, 2-1.
- After PSU earned a 67-64 home win during the 1955-56 season, BU swept the home-and-away series with a 96-88 road win in 1982-83 under future NBA head coach Rick Pitino and 73-67 home win in 1983-84 under future NBA head coach John Kuester.
- BU will seek its first win over the Big Ten since defeating Indiana at the 2009 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Players Mentioned
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