Men’s Basketball: Terriers fall short on the road against Notre Dame

By Brendan Galvin

Despite two strong scoring runs in the second half, Boston University Men’s Basketball fell to University of Notre Dame by a score of 81-75. 

The Terriers (5-5) opened the second half on an 11-2 run to give them a two-point lead, but Notre Dame (7-2) quickly answered with a 21-4 run of their own. 

BU was never out of reach of the Fighting Irish, putting themselves within five points of the lead, but were unable to convert on crucial possessions late in the game.

The only points scored by Notre Dame in the final five minutes of the game were free throws, but their success from the stripe proved enough to pull out a victory. 

While Notre Dame is a very talented opponent, as they will vouch for an ACC Championship this season, BU Head Coach Joe Jones was not pleased with the outcome. 

“We weren’t tough enough to win,” Jones said. “You have to be able to make ‘toughness’ plays. … You have to battle and fight and scrap, and we didn’t do that well enough.” 

The Terriers came out of the gate very slowly, opening the game 1-for-10 from the field. However, they soon turned it on, connecting on 10 of their next 21 shots. 

Senior guard Ethan Brittain-Watts led the offensive attack, scoring a season-high 19 points, two rebounds and three assists. Brittain-Watts got the Terriers going in the second half, connecting on 3-point attempts on consecutive possessions.

It was a homecoming game for Brittain-Watts, as he played high school basketball at Culver Academies, just 50 minutes south of Notre Dame. 

“He played great,” Jones said. “He gave up on some defensive plays, but he had a great offensive game.” 

Grad forward Walter Whyte and senior forward Nevin Zink also contributed offensively, each scoring 13 points. Whyte also had five boards and one assist, while Zink had four rebounds and two assists. 

For the Fighting Irish, the tandem of graduate guards Trey Wertz and Cormac Ryan led the way, with the pair combining to score 37 points. 

Wertz totaled 16 points, four assists and two rebounds. He connecting on three of his six attempts from three. Ryan contributed 21 points, three assists and five rebounds, going 6-for-7 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from deep. 

Notre Dame continued to show why they are the most disciplined defensive team, consistently guarding BU’s forwards down low without fouling. They lead the country in fouls per game, committing just 10.5 on average.

“They have so many weapons, it’s hard to contain all their guys,” Jones said. “They just have some really efficient offensive players.”

The loss Wednesday marks another comeback attempt that ended up falling short for BU. Jones emphasized the need for the team to prepare better going into games. 

“We have to change our habits. We’re an experienced team. We’ve got to prepare better. We do that better, we’re going to be fine. We have to change that first,” Jones said. 

The Terriers, who now fall to .500 on the season, visit Marist College this Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.