Men’s Basketball: A series of unfortunate events as Terriers fall to Colgate at home
By Aniya Sumner
Boston University Men’s Basketball (10-12, 3-6 PL) added another loss to their record as they fell 64-51 to the Colgate Raiders (15-7, 9-0 PL) on Monday night.
Graduate wing Walter Whyte led the team with 11 points and five rebounds, while graduate guard Fletcher Tynen helped, added 10 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Terriers looked ready to give the two-time defending Patriot League champions a hard time, scoring the first two points of the game within less than a minute. However, those hopes were instantly shattered by Colgate’s impressive 14-0 run in the first eight minutes of the half.
Despite the tough start, the Terriers were able to close the gap by going on a small 8-0 run of their own in the latter half of the first period.
“We pressed a little bit, we trapped, we got a couple of steals and turnovers, and were able to make a little bit of a run,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said. “We were down a lot but we kept scraping and fighting.”
Nevertheless, Colgate’s impenetrable defense and 51.9% shooting forced BU to spend the remainder of the half chipping away, ultimately ending the period at 33-23.
The second half would prove to be just as challenging as the first as BU was unable to put a stop to Colgate’s fast movement in transition, allowing the Raiders to score 11 points off of fast breaks, and another eight points off of turnovers.
“If we would’ve done a better job in our transition defense and made our layups, it would’ve been a closer game,” Jones said. “We missed makeable shots and we didn’t get back, and that’s what killed us.”
A 8-0 rally from Colgate’s Preseason PL Player of the Year Tucker Richardson, along with a small hot streak from guard Oliver Lynch-Daniels, stretched the lead even further, giving the Raiders their largest lead of the game (21).
In a rushed effort to catch up, the Terriers spent the remaining five minutes of the game trying to sink a handful of contested threes, despite the already low 14.29 3-point percentage. A few anxious fouls by BU in the last 40 seconds of the game would give the Raiders their last four points of the game, and ultimately the 64-51 victory.
“The guys didn’t quit, they fought the whole game,” Jones said. “We made a couple runs but you just can’t give a team like this that type of leeway.”
The series of missed opportunities from the Terriers ultimately put the nail in the coffin as the team made only four points off second chances in the second period.
“This will be a hard film to watch,” Jones said. “I thought we had a chance… but we just didn’t make enough plays offensively to get closer.”
The Terriers look to redeem themselves as they take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Sunday at 12 p.m.