Men’s Basketball: Despite comeback, BU falls to Dartmouth
Featured image by Jacob Ireland
By James Noyes
Boston University men’s basketball (4-7) lost to the Dartmouth Big Green (3-6) 63-54 in Hanover, New Hampshire on Wednesday. Despite clawing back from a large early deficit, the Terriers cold shooting held them back from victory on the road.
Junior guard Ethan Okwuousa led the Terriers in scoring with 14 points, alongside a 13-point performance from senior guard Miles Brewster. They were the only Terriers to score in double figures.
“We struggled to maintain a level of focus, intensity, and understanding we needed to win tonight,” BU head Coach Joe Jones said. “Offensively, this was probably the first time I felt like we played as individuals for good portions of the game.”
The Terriers struggled to move the ball and find openings early against a tough Dartmouth defense, and couldn’t capitalize with made baskets when they did. BU made 27 percent of their 3-point shots and shot below 42% from the field in the first half.
Meanwhile, Dartmouth started off hot; they scored in the paint at will and hounded the Terriers on defense. Four BU turnovers in the first five minutes of the game allowed Dartmouth to build their lead; five minutes into the first half, BU was trailing 9-1.
The Terriers faced their biggest deficit of the game mid-way through the first half, finding themselves down 19-6. However, quick layups from Brewster and freshman guard Kyrone Alexander stopped the margin from growing.
BU’s leading scorer in the game, Ethan Okwuosa, stole the ball twice from Dartmouth and hit a 3-pointer in the last five minutes of the half. An Alexander 3-pointer brought the Terriers within five points, and they ended the half down 33-28.
Okwuosa started the second half confidently for BU, making defensive stops and finding an open Otto Landrum off a pick-and-roll to make the score 38-34 Dartmouth. A Miles Brewster 3-pointer, which was the Terriers’ only triple in the second half, brought BU within one.
After a Dartmouth free throw, Okwuosa glided down the floor and made a tough and-one layup to tie the game 39-39. He missed the free throw, but then scored another layup to give BU its first lead in the contest.
“Ethan’s improved this year,” Jones said. “I thought he had a really good game. He’s getting more comfortable out there.”
BU’s lead, however, would be short-lived; Dartmouth responded with a 12-0 run, spurred on by three 3-pointers: one from sophomore forward Jayden Williams and two from junior guard Romeo Myrthil. Myrthil led the game in scoring, netting a career-high 18 points.
The Terriers responded with a run of their own; steals on back-to-back Dartmouth possessions led to seven straight Terrier points, and the score was 51-48 with six minutes left to play. After a competitive two-minute stretch, BU was down 53-51. Dartmouth maintained their slim lead until the final minute, and the Terriers started fouling.
Not for lack of trying, BU could not overcome the early hole they had gotten themselves into. A second half of disastrous 3-point shooting (1-for-12) and free-throw shooting (3-for-11) did nothing to help the Terriers as they finally succumbed 63-54.
“We got good enough shots to win the game, but there’s little you can do when you’re not making foul shots,” said Jones. “You go 8-for-19, from the foul line, on the road, that’s a hard game to win.”
Overall, BU shot just 37.9 percent from the field
“We missed friggin’ layups,” Jones said. “It was not pretty.”
It was the Terriers eighth away game out of the total 11 games they’ve played this year. Next, BU will head back to Boston for a home matchup against UMass Lowell on Friday, December 22 at noon.