Men’s Basketball: BU gets Lucky Number 7
By: Chris Lynch
The Boston University Terriers ran their winning streak to seven games with a tight victory over the Colgate Raiders on Wednesday night, 71-68.
Colgate came into the game in third place, one game behind BU for second place in the Patriot League. Both teams needed a victory, and Colgate came out on a the attack.
The Raiders shot 7-14 from three point range, and rode the hot hand of Austin Tillotson into a 33-31 halftime lead. Tillotson shot 6-10 from the field and 5-5 from three point range in the firs half. He scored 19 of Colgate’s first 33 points, including the last nine points of the half.
BU countered with a diverse offense, with Eric Fanning leading in scoring with 9 points in the first half. The hot stretch from Tillotson and a good performance from Sean O’Brien put Colgate ahead at the half.
BU put Cheddi Mosely on Tillotson in the second half, and got in gear on the offensive side of the ball. BU’s offense was diverse, complete, and effective. Four players got double digit points on the game. Cheddi Mosely got a team high 15 points and a career high 10 rebounds, for his first double double on this season and as a Terrier.
Eric Fanning totaled 13 points and Blaise Mbargorba and Nick Havener got 10 points each. There were a few times when Mbargorba called for the ball and was more aggressive than he had been on the whole season. Coach Joe Jones explained that he has been on Blaise in practice to get the ball low more frequently and more efficiently. His coaching points paid off nicely. Nick Havener’s points all came in the second half, and was the spark plug that BU was looking for in the game.
Other players found a way to contribute too. Dylan Haines put in nine points off the bench and got three blocks on the game. He was a part of a defensive unit that controlled the second half. BU got eight blocks in total, with three coming from Haines, three coming from Havener.
Havener also got three of BU’s six steals. Kyle Foreman finished with eight points and a team high six assists. BU played without senior forward Nathan Dieudonne for the second consecutive game, and they still outrebounded Colgate 42-34 on the night.
Despite the strong performance, BU could not put Colgate away. The Raiders got back into the game late with an avalanche of missed free throws from the Terriers. BU only shot 9-18 from the free throw line in the second half, including only five successful free throws out of twelve attempts.
BU also shot poorly from three point range, only 6-23 from three point range. Sharpshooter John Papale played 37 minutes of the game, but only went 2-6 from three point range and scored only six points on the game.
Colgate stayed in the game behind a weak BU shooting performance and a strong shooting performance of their own. They shot 44% from three point range, and Austin Tillotson performed well, scoring a game high 28 points. Alex Ramon added ten points and Jordan Swopshire got nine points and ten rebounds.
With a narrow victory, BU stays in a tie with Lehigh for second place in the Patriot League. The Terriers will have their biggest test of the regular season yet on Sunday. They travel to Bucknell to play the first place Bison on the CBS Sports Network at 12 p.m.