Men’s Basketball: Terriers fall in season opener to URI

By Matthew Meusel

The Boston University men’s basketball team (0-1, 0-0 PL) came up short on Tuesday night to the University of Rhode Island (1-0, 0-0 A-10) by a final score of 71-62 in its first game of the season.

After trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, BU fought back in the second period but was never able to come within one possession of URI.

The lack of ball security hurt the Terriers as they were trying to mount a comeback in the second half. BU finished with 19 turnovers — after averaging just 12.5 per game a year ago.

First game jitters may have had something to do with the number of turnovers, according to Head Coach Joe Jones. “Everyone’s probably going to be sloppy at the start,” he said.

But shaking off the rust in a season opener wasn’t the only factor in BU’s sloppy ball handling. Jones credited the URI defense for forcing BU into bad decisions — “their intensity really got to us.”

Despite the Rams’ 17 turnovers, their ability to shoot the ball was a key factor in keeping a comfortable lead on the scoreboard throughout the game. URI shot 48.9% from the field compared to just 36.4% from the Terriers.

URI’s three-headed monster at the guard position was on full display, led by freshman guard Ishmael Leggett, who finished with 18 points. Ishmael El-Amin added 13 points and Jeremy Sheppard poured in another 12.

The Terriers have plenty of shooting up and down the roster, but it was not on display against the Rams. They started 1-10 from behind the arc and finished 7-27.

If Tuesday’s game was any indication, BU will be going deep into its bench even in close games like this one. Eight different Terriers saw double-digit minutes, but the bench only provided 13 points of offense.

The Ryan Center atmosphere was vibrant and loud. After playing in front of virtually no crowd during any games last season, BU was welcomed into a hostile environment on night one of the season.

The raucous environment may have contributed to the poor free-throw shooting for BU. They went just 15-23 from the charity stripe, which Jones described as “abysmal.”

BU will return to Boston and play its home opener on Friday against Gordon College. Game time is set for 5 p.m.