Men’s Basketball: Terriers Defeat Bucknell for First Patriot League Win

By Brendan Galvin

Graduate guard Jonas Harper’s last-second steal and score sealed the deal for Boston University Men’s Basketball in their 69-61 win against Bucknell University, marking their first Patriot League victory of the 2022-2023 campaign. 

After the Terriers (8-7, 1-1 PL) turned the ball over up by six points with 16 seconds remaining, Harper was able to come up with a steal of his own and go coast-to-coast for a score. 

Just days after a poor shooting performance in their conference opener against Navy, BU was able to find their rhythm from deep, shooting 10-for-25 (40%) from behind the arc.

However, struggles from the free throw line continued, as the team shot 11-for-19 (58%), including a key miss from graduate guard Fletcher Tynen to keep the lead within two possessions with under 30 seconds left. 

Both teams got off to a fast start, getting up and down the court early with only one stoppage on a foul from Harper in the first six minutes of the game. 

BU was able to come back from multiple double-digit deficits, led by the scoring efforts of Harper and graduate forward Walter Whyte, who contributed 17 and 13 points, respectively. 

“In the first half, defensively, we weren’t really attacking, we didn’t have enough guys competing, playing with enough energy,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said after the game. 

“In the second half, we had some good leadership at halftime from the players, and then we were much better with our level of intensity,” Jones said.

Harper was lights out from deep, connecting on four of his six attempts. Whyte also hauled in eight rebounds and dished out four assists. 

“(Harper’s) been practicing great. He really hasn’t had too many practices where he hasn’t made shots or he hasn’t played well,” Jones said. “It’s just a matter of time before he strings along some games like he did today.” 

After trailing for more than 24 minutes, a three from senior guard Ethan Brittain-Watts gave the Terriers a lead they would not look back on. 

Solid second-half rebounding from the Terriers combined with 9-for-27 (33%) second-half shooting marked decisive in the Terriers first conference win. 

“I thought we were just more physical, played harder on the ball. Everybody picked up their energy level,” Jones added. 

Sophomore forward Ian Motta’s 3-point shot was the only make out of the Bison’s 11 attempts from behind the arc in the second half. 

For Bucknell, senior center Alex Timmerman led the offensive attack with 14 points and four rebounds. BU also managed to limit the scoring of  7-foot-1 big man Andre Screen with consistent double-teams and paint defense. The Terriers recovered from those double-teams down low well, getting back out to guard perimeter players when Screen kicked the ball back out.

In the end, the Terriers run-and-gun offense and interior defense was too much to handle for the Bison.

The team looks to improve to 2-1 in conference play on Thursday against Lafayette. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m..