Men’s Basketball: BU Holds On, Improves to .500 in Patriot League Play

By Michael Wax 

Boston University (13-8, 4-4 PL) used a bend-but-don’t-break mentality on Saturday afternoon, taking down the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (7-13, 5-3 PL) 80-74 at home.

“It’s a great game to win because they played well, and we had to play better to win,” said BU head coach Joe Jones.

The game was a tight one early, as Lehigh’s Jeameril Wilson scored eight quick points, and BU’s spread-out offense saw contributions from everyone in the starting lineup. After the Terriers picked up a 15-14 lead with 11:55 to go in the first half, they held it for the rest of the way.

The name of the game was getting stops, as both teams shot efficiently from the field. Jones said the whole team came ready to match the Mountain Hawks shot-for-shot, while also limiting their abilities to get easy shots away.

“We just tried to understand what they did and what each guy was trying to do within their offense,” Jones said. “I can’t say we stopped them. But we were trying to make things hard for them.”

One player the Terriers seemed to neutralize as the game progressed was Wilson. Senior forwards Walter Whyte and Fletcher Tynen were each tasked with guarding Wilson at certain points of the game and held him to just eight points in the first half.

“The coaches did a good job with film, showing us what moves he likes to go to especially in the post,” said Tynen. “In the post, we tried to read him and then outside we tried to give him space for when he drives.”

Lehigh attempted a comeback as the first half was coming to a close, but a steal and buzzer-beating three-pointer from senior guard Jonas Harper gave BU a 10-point halftime lead. Despite the big shot, Tynen knew that their work wasn’t done yet.

“We kind of know not to celebrate too much because that’s only the first half,” said Tynen.
“Anything could change the second half.”

BU’s lead got to 15 in the second half off a Caelan Jones three, but Lehigh clawed its way back by nailing three after three of its own. Coach Jones was complimentary of the sharp-shooting Mountain Hawks, who went 13-of-23 from deep.

“They made a ton of threes,” said Jones. “They executed at a high level and they were terrific.”

BU ended up holding on, thanks to a fifth consecutive double-double from graduate center Sukhmail Mathon (23 points, 13 rebounds), but the prevailing theme of slow starts and sloppy finishes was a key focal point in Jones’ outlook towards the next game.

“I think we just got to stick with the concepts defensively.” said Jones “I think at times we’re running into screens, we’re not communicating quick enough. I thought we were behind plays and they were able to get free and make some tough shots. We just have to do a much better job of being aware and being able to communicate quicker.”

BU takes on Lafayette on Wednesday at 7 p.m.