Men’s Basketball: Terriers Win on Last-Second Putback Against Marist

By James Noyes

Boston University Men’s Basketball (6-5) beat the Marist College Red Foxes (4-5) 72-70 in an away game in Poughkeepsie, New York on Saturday. In a tie game that came down to the final seconds, star BU forward Walter Whyte caught a rebound and threw it up with three seconds remaining. The putback was good, and the Terriers left Marist with a win under pressure.

The Red Foxes kept pace with the Terriers throughout the game, led by center Patrick Gardner and guard Noah Harris. The duo combined for 43 of Marist’s 70 points, and posed a threat to BU’s interior defense.

“Gardner’s awfully good,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said. “He’s as good as any big that we’ve played against.”

Despite the success of Gardner and Harris, only one other Red Fox scored in double figures (Isaiah Brickner, 10 points). The Terriers, however, mounted an impressive offensive attack, combining hot shooting, strong post-play and contributions off the bench to stave off Marist.

While the Red Foxes struggled to find scoring outside of their top performers, the Terriers’ bench outscored Marist’s 27-6.

Whyte led the game in scoring with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Senior guard Ethan Brittain-Watts also contributed 16 points and six assists in the game, his third-straight game scoring in double figures.

The Terriers were outscored 26-20 on points in the paint, but the crucial points came down the stretch when BU tried to penetrate inside for hard fought points in the final minutes.

“We just tried to get downhill as best we could,” Jones said. “It was a good mindset we had about being aggressive”

And aggressive they were. Tied 70-70 with four seconds left, Brittain-Watts drove for a contested layup that missed off the backboard. Whyte was there to scoop up the rebound, and he hoisted BU’s final shot with seconds to go. The putback attempt was good, and BU went up 72-70 with no time for Marist to make a play.

Whyte’s hustle play capped off a hustle win for the Terriers, who are now 5-2 all time against Marist. Following a tough loss to a tough Notre Dame team, this win was exactly what the Terriers needed to get their season back on track.

BU will return home to Case Gym in Boston for their next game against Dartmouth, on Tuesday at 7 p.m.