Terriers Finish Strong February With 68-65 Victory at American

Saturday, February 28

Washington, D.C.

12 PM

Boston University

15-16,10-8Patriot

American

16-15,9-9Patriot

Boston U.

American

Terriers Finish Strong February With 68-65 Victory at American

February 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Coach Jones Postgame

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Highlighted by junior Michael McNair's double-double and freshman Chance Gladden's 22-point performance, the Boston University men's basketball team wrapped the regular season with a 68-65 victory at American Saturday afternoon.

The Terriers (15-16, 10-8 PL) shot 53.3 percent from the field and held the Eagles (16-15, 9-9 PL) to 35.6 FG% to clinch the No. 4 seed and Patriot League quarterfinal hosting rights against American on Thursday (March 5) with a 7 p.m. tip.

McNair hit all four of his 3-pointers in the first half en route to 21 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for his third career double-double, while Gladden shot 9-for-12 from the field to earn 22 points with four assists. Sophomore Ben Defty finished in double figures as well with 14 points and added three blocks.

Julen Iturbe tallied 17 points alongside three assists to lead the Eagles, while Greg Jones and Kde Sebastian posted 13 points apiece. They helped AU outscore BU off turnovers, 21-6, with advantages in both free throws (14-12) and 3-pointers (9-8), but they were all held scoreless for the final 2:01.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Gladden fed Defty for a layup and added his own to start the game and give BU a lead that would last until the final minutes of the second half.
After Iturbe scored from behind the arc to pull within three, 8-5, at 15:17, McNair responded with one of his own to spark a 12-0 run that finished with his four-point play and Gladden's trey at 12:51.
Iturbe scored again in 3-point territory at 6:48 to cut deficit to 29-14, but McNair struck back from long range as part of a 9-0 spurt finished by Gladen's layup at 1:59.
American scored the final seven points with Sebastian draining a 3-pointer to put BU's lead at 38-23 entering the locker room.
The Eagles continued to chip away and pulled within nine (41-32) at 17:16 on Jones' two free throws.
Facing a 46-32 deficit following Defty's 3-point play at 15:32, the Eagles scored 12 straight points over the following six minutes.
McNair pushed the lead to 57-49 at 7:19 on two free throws, but AU rallied back to grab its lone lead on Sebastian's fastbreak layup, 66-65, at 2:02.
Gladden put the Terriers back ahead with a drive to the hoop 19 seconds later and helped hold AU to 0-for-2 shooting and a turnover.
Both Defty and Abdullah hit a free throw over the last 20 seconds for the final three-point margin of victory.

GAME NOTES

With his second 3-pointer of the game, McNair became the fourth individual in Patriot League men's basketball history to reach 100 3-pointers in a single season. Army's Kyle Wilson was the last one to accomplish the mark back during the 2015-16 season.
BU went 7-1 in February for its best performance since earning a perfect 8-0 mark in 2011.

UP NEXT

Seeded No. 4, BU will host No. 5 American on Thursday (March 5) at 7 p.m.
The Terriers will be the No. 4 seed for just the third time in program history after reaching the 2010 America East title game and dropping an 86-78 decision in last year's quarterfinal contest to Navy.
BU is 0-2 all-time in the postseason vs. American with homes losses in 2014 and 2016.