Men’s Basketball: Terriers Lose to Lafayette in Overtime

By James Noyes

The Boston University Terriers (12-15, 5-9) lost to the Lafayette College Leopards (9-18, 7-7) 69-65 in Easton, Pennsylvania on Saturday. Despite coming from behind to force overtime in the second half, the Terriers could not match Lafayette’s shooting in the extra session, and lost a hard-fought battle.

Senior Walter Whyte led the team in scoring with 20 points, bringing his career total at Boston University up to 1,617 points. He is only the eighth Terrier in program history to surpass 1,600 points. 

Lafayette sophomore guard CJ Fulton matched Whyte with 20 points of his own, to go along with seven assists. Lafayette senior Leo O’Boyle scored 17 points, hitting multiple big shots down the stretch to keep the win alive for the Leopards.

The Terriers started off the game aggressive, forcing two turnovers in the first two minutes of the game on a Miles Brewster block and a Fletcher Tynen steal. Lafayette freshman Josh Rivera opened up the scoring with a layup for the Leopards, before Whyte sank a 3-pointer for the first points for the Terriers.

It was a balanced game for most of the first half, with BU leading 18-16 with 6:11 left. Lafayette took control at the end of the first however, coming back and retaining the lead until the clock hit 0:00. At the end of the first half, the Leopards led 33-27.

The Terriers tied it up early in the second half, thanks to 3-pointers from Whyte and Jonas Harper. BU matched the hot shooting of Lafayette in the second half, led by sophomore Malcolm Chimezie and Brewster.

The Terriers were down by four with just under two minutes left in the game, before a strong dunk from Whyte cut the deficit to one possession. 

As the clock ticked down, and the Terriers chances to come back grew slimmer, BU ramped up their pace. The Terriers finally got the chance they were looking for at the buzzer, when the man of the hour, Whyte, scored a layup to send the game to OT.

“Walter and Jonas are doing all they can,” BU Head Coach Joe Jones said. “They’re focused on the right things, trying to lead us.” 

Harper scored the first points of overtime with a mid range jumper. Lafayette junior Kyle Jenkins responded with a jumper of his own, then Anthony Morales drained a three for BU on the next possession.

Jenkins hit another jumper for the Leopards, then a Terrier shooting foul made it into a game of free throws. Lafayette dutifully hit their foul shots, keeping the distance from the Terriers until the clock ran all the way down. BU lost, 69-65. 

The Terriers recorded 19 turnovers, their second-most this season. “With the amount of mistakes we made and turnovers we had, it was unbelievable that it was as close as it was,” Jones said.

BU will play their next game against Holy Cross next Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Worcester.