BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Highlighted by a stellar rebounding effort and strong free throw shooting, the Boston University men's basketball team claimed a 79-68 wire-to-wire victory at Lehigh Wednesday night.

The Terriers (15-15, 9-8 PL) clinched a first round bye for the start of next week's Patriot League tournament by outscoring the Mountain Hawks (10-18, 5-12 PL) in second chance points, 15-0, while also hitting a season-high 27 free throws off 34 attempts (.794 FT%).

Sophomore Kyrone Alexander led the charge with his second double-double of the season behind 21 points and 10 rebounds thanks to a 12-for-12 performance at the charity stripe while adding four steals. Junior Nico Nobili (7 pts.) helped BU prevent the Mountain Hawks from earning a single offensive rebound by hauling in a career-high 12 boards, and graduate student Miles Brewster recorded 14 points with six rebounds alongside three assists and two steals. Freshman Ben Defty was the fourth Terrier in double figures at 11 points, two more than classmate Azmar Abdullah.

Tyler Whitney-Sidney led the Mountain Hawks with a game-high 32 points by shooting 8-for-11 FG and 14-for-17 FT. Nasir Whitlock also had a big game on the offensive end with 24 points, as the two men combined for five 3-pointers. The rest of the team though finished 5-for-20 (.250), as the Terriers claimed a regular season sweep against Lehigh for the second consecutive year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Four different Terriers scored over the first six minutes of action with sophomore Michael McNair striking first on a turnaround jumper at 19:31 and Nobili hitting two free throws at 14:14.
• Whitney-Sidney pulled BU back with a layup, jumper and two free throws at 12:31 before Brewster responded on the next possession with a driving layup of his own.
• Three minutes later, Whitney-Sidney scored a floater to cut the deficit to 11-10, but Lehigh would never grab the lead or even tie the game.
• After Joshua Ingram cut BU's lead to 21-19 at 5:45, Abdullah scored from behind the arc to spark a 13-5 run capped by Defty's free throw at 1:59.
• The Mountain Hawks scored four points over the next minute, but Alexander hit a contested jumper before the buzzer to enter the locker room ahead, 36-28.
• Alexander hit two free throws at 16:58 in the second half to give BU its largest lead of the game, 44-33.
• Lehigh chipped away and pulled within two at 8:37 (60-58), 7:03 (62-60), 6:03 (64-62) and lastly 4:34 (66-64) on Whitlock's driving layup.
• The Mountain Hawks followed with a defensive stop but missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt and then watched Brewster beat the shot clock buzzer at 3:25 from behind the arc to help BU finish on a 12-4 run.
• BU hit all six free throw attempts over the last 2:34 to help seal the victory.

GAME NOTES

• Alexander earned his second career double-double after previously recording 16 points and 10 rebounds on Feb. 1 at Loyola Maryland.
• Nobili topped by one his previous high of 11 rebounds set at American in 2024.
• Defty scored in double figures for the third time over the last four contests.
• BU improved to 17-10 all-time against Lehigh and 6-6 at Stabler Arena.

UP NEXT

• Riding a 10-game home win streak, BU will next end the regular season by hosting Lafayette on Saturday (March 1) at 1 p.m.
• Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Senior Day ceremony recognizing the following five Terriers - Brewster, Malcolm Chimezie, Ethan Okwuosa, Ben Palacios and Ryan Sutliff.
• The Leopards won the first meeting back on Jan. 2, 60-46, and will try to become the only PL squad to sweep BU this season.