Men’s Basketball: After loss to Colgate, BU must ‘put the BS behind’

By: Greg Levinsky

After picking up two early fouls, a tinge of frustration prompted Boston University men’s basketball junior Tyler Scanlon to thrust his hands at an innocent door in his path.

With his team already trailing by nine and at the time the only point scorer on his side, Scanlon went to the bench as the Terriers (9-9, 2-4 Patriot League) hosted Colgate University (11-8, 3-3) Saturday at Case Gym. BU ultimately fell 77-56. They never got the game within a single possession.

Head coach Joe Jones said he “has to take responsibility” for his team’s poor play, but also made it known the players have work to do as well.

“We’ve got to put the BS behind us,” Jones said. “We’ve got to get guys more thinking about the team and what the team needs to do.”

Said Jones: “We’ve got to get ourselves together and  go out there and be connected on the floor and play for each other. That’s what it’s about now. It can’t be about individuals.”

Colgate rattled off a 7-0 spurt before the Terriers scored their first point. Colgate sophomore guard Jordan Burns keyed the run with a layup and midrange jumper.

Scanlon (team-high 14 points) got BU on the board with a short jumper, but the Raiders kept pouring it on, jumping out to a 13-2 lead just over five minutes in.

“That’s when you just know you’re not ready to play,” Jones said. “I think it would’ve been a good game if we showed up.”

Other than that run, it wasn’t so bad in the first half. The Terriers kept pace, cutting the deficit to nine, 42-33, at halftime.

It’s also the first time BU has started out 2-4 in Patriot League play since their move to the conference ahead of the 2013-14 season.

The momentum appeared to shift early in the second half. Redshirt freshman Alex Vilarino’s score preceded a Javante McCoy jumper as the Terriers cut the deficit to five. But on the next possession Burns (15 points, 4 assists) stole a pass and glided in for a wide open layup.

Again and again the Terriers cut the deficit, twice to as little as four.

There were issues with foul trouble. BU junior Max Mahoney battled for a rebound with Colgate junior Will Rayman (12 points). After getting tangled up, Rayman hit the floor hard and remained down for a while with a bloodied nose.  Burns hit the awarded free throws and senior Francisco Amiel followed with a triple to extend the Terriers deficit back to double digits.

“We just had breakdowns,” Jones said. “We looked undisciplined. There were times where we just had no will at the rim, just kind of gave up layups.

“It was hard to watch.”

Both Mahoney and freshman Jordan Guest had four fouls with over five minutes remaining. Mahoney fouled out with just under two minutes left, ending his streak of 10 straight games scoring in double figures.

“He didn’t play the way he normally has played,” Jones said.

Colgate held a double digit lead for the final 8:32. The Terriers never led.

“This is probably the worst game we’ve played all year,” Jones said.

Greg Levinsky can be reached at glevinsk@bu.edu. Follow him on Twitter @GregLevinsky.