BOSTON – After sophomore Kyrone Alexander hit a jumper with five seconds left in double overtime, the Boston University men's basketball team successfully defended against a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt to seal a thrilling 93-91 victory over defending Patriot League champion Colgate on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.

With their ninth straight home victory in a contest that featured a season-high 16 lead changes and 14 ties, the Terriers (13-14) improve to 7-7 in Patriot League play, while the Raiders (11-16) drop to 8-6. Colgate shot 51.6 percent from the field and held BU to 42.3 FG%, but the Terriers tripled the Raiders in second chance points, 18-6, and posted a 22-16 advantage in made free throws with a 11-11 tie in 3-pointers.

Alexander was one of five Terriers to score in double digits with a team-high 21 points, while freshman Ben Defty came off the bench to deliver a personal-best 15 points. Graduate student Miles Brewster and junior Nico Nobili totaled 13 points apiece, and sophomore Michael McNair earned 12 points apiece. They helped BU out-rebound Colgate on the boards, 46-30.

Playing a game-high 44 minutes, Jalen Cox led all players with a game-high 25 points alongside three assists and three steals for Colgate. Jeff Woodward was one rebound shy of a double-double with 20 points before fouling out in the second overtime. Nicolas Louis-Jacques went 4-of-9 from behind the arc on his way to 16 points. 

INTO EXTRA TIME

• After Brewster hit two free throws for a 70-67 lead with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, Cox managed to quickly find Louis-Jacques for a game-tying trey.
• BU called a timeout but was forced into a tough shot attempt to send the game to overtime.
• Woodward started off with a short jumper, but Defty, Alexander and Bobili all scored in the paint to grab a 76-72 lead at 2:17.
• Cox regrouped from missing a 3-point attempt on the next possession by swiping the ball away from Alexander and converting on a fastbreak layup.
• In the back-and-forth clash, Nobili retook the lead at 40 seconds, 78-77, and added a free throw with 23 seconds left.
• Cox quickly drew a foul and hit both free throws at 17 seconds to tie the game, 79-79, before helping the Raiders force BU into another tough 3-point shot to head to a second OT.
• In their first 2OT game of the season, the Terriers quickly grabbed an 85-79 lead on Alexander's second 3-pointer at 3:53 and saw it extended to 88-81 on his third trey at 2:42.
• The Raiders though quickly flushed back-to-back 3-pointers of their own to pull within one with 2:00 left.
• After Nobili went 1-of-2 at the line for a 91-89 lead at 34 seconds, Cox tied the game for the last time on a successful drive to the hoop.
• BU did not use its last timeout and watched Alexander hit a contested jumper in the paint for what proved to be the game winner at five seconds, as the Raiders missed a contested 3-point attempt while on the run before the buzzer sounded.

THE SETUP

• Neither team led by more than by six in the first half with six lead changes and five ties. 
• Freshman Azmar Abdullah put BU in double digits first on a 3-pointer at 12:59 before Cox tied the game 30 seconds later on a layup, 10-10.
• Facing a 19-15 deficit with 7:40 remaining, Defty followed Chimezie's short jumper with six straight points over the next four minutes.
• Alexander gave the Terriers their largest lead in regulation, 27-21, with his first of three 3-pointers at 1:45, but Woodward scored in the paint on the next possession and Chandler Baker scored from behind the arc on the Raiders' final possession to pull within one entering the locker room.
• After McNair started the second half with a 3-pointer, the Raiders went on a 14-2 run capped by Parker Jones' two free throws at 15:02.
• Baker one minute later fed Woodward for a slam dunk to keep the eight-point advantage, 42-34.
• The Terriers quickly scored six straight points but wouldn't retake the lead until Abdullah swiped the ball away from Louis-Jacques and scored on a driving layup at 5:48 to move ahead, 56-55.
• Woodward though came right back with a layup, and Louis-Jacques hit a fastbreak 3-pointer for the 60-56 lead at 3:42.
• Defty would not be denied, converting on a 3-point play on the next possession and shortly thereafter hitting two free throws following his offensive rebound.
• Brady Cummins tied the game, 65-65, at 59 seconds on a long-range bucket before McNair came right back with one of his own.
• The teams exchanged free throws until Louis-Jacques scored from behind the arc to send the game to the first OT.

GAME NOTES

• BU and Colgate battled to its first OT game in the series since the Terriers pulled out a 57-54 2OT thriller in Hamilton, New York, in 1985 when both programs were members of the ECAC North Atlantic Conference, now known as the America East. 
• The Terriers are now 3-0 on the season when reaching overtime following home wins over UAlbany and Bucknell.
• BU reached double OT for the first time since coming up just short in the 2017 Patriot League semifinals to Lehigh. That contest along with the previous 2OT game, a win over UMBC in 2009, both also took place at Case Gym.
• More than half of BU's wins, seven total, have come when trailing with five minutes left in regulation. The Terriers also have four wins when finishing with a smaller FG percentage.
• Alexander reached 20+ points for the fourth time this season and fifth overall.
• Defty's seven rebounds topped his previous high of five set against Thomas College back on Dec. 9. His 15 points marked his fifth overall 10+ point performance and first since he scored 10 at Merrimack on Dec. 13.
• BU snapped a six-game losing streak to Colgate with the last win also occurring at home in 2022.

UP NEXT

• BU will conclude the homestand by hosting Loyola Maryland on Wednesday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m.
• The Greyhounds edged the Terriers at home, 69-67, back on Feb. 1.