Men’s Basketball: Strong Performances from Kyrone Alexander and Otto Landrum get BU back on track against Navy

Featured image by Jacob Ireland

By Finn Rogan 

The Boston University Terriers (11-16, 6-8 Patriot League) defeated the Navy Midshipmen (8-17, 4-10 PL), 74-65, on Saturday afternoon at Case Gym.

BU was led by a dazzling performance from freshman guard Kyrone Alexander, who scored 19 points, dished out two assists, and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I thought he was amazing,” head coach Joe Jones said.

Alexander was also impressive on the defense end, showing his versatility and length at 6-foot-5 by guarding multiple positions.

“I don’t feel like any matchup is a mismatch,” Alexander said. “I think I match up pretty well with anybody in the league.”

Unlike Wednesday night at Army, BU was able to start well, getting eight early points from sophomore forward Otto Landrum.

“I was really into it pretty quickly today, which I think is typically a bad thing if you’re playing against me,” Landrum said. 

Landrum would finish with 19 points, four rebounds, and a team high seven made free throws.

The Terriers were able to sustain a lead the whole first half due to a variety of shot making at the rim and behind the arc. BU’s off the ball movement helped lead to numerous makes.

“We haven’t been a consistent 3-point shooting team,” Jones said. “So we got to find different ways to score, and cutting and screening will be something that we want to do on that weak side.”

BU led, 36-28, after the first half. Navy came out looking like a more competitive team in the second half, as the Terrier lead was quickly cut back down to five. 

“We need to play hard,” Jones said. “I thought we were soft in the paint today.”

That enabled Navy to stay close all game, in large part due to its 16 offensive rebounds. However, the Terriers were up for the challenge and never lost their lead in the second half. The latter stages of the game was when Alexander really left his mark.

Alexander scored 12 points in the second half, including a huge catch-and-shoot 3 on a bad pass to put BU up 12 with less than ten minutes left.

“In my head, I was saying if he chooses me, I’ll shoot it,” Alexander said. “He ended up throwing it, and it’s a little to the right, so I take it up and I still felt good, and I’m like, ‘why not let it go?’”

With some key free throws at the end, Alexander helped see BU through to victory. It was a crucial win with just six games in the Patriot League remaining.

The team knows how crucial the upcoming stretch is for seeding in the Patriot League tournament. BU is still trying to find its full consistent game.

“We’ve got to be able to focus in and and play the way we are capable of playing,” Jones said.

“Mentally we haven’t been strong enough to prepare, and keep the momentum going,” Alexander said.

The Terriers will have a chance to keep the momentum going, as they will travel to the nation’s capital and take on the American Eagles (14-13, 8-6 Patriot league) on Wednesday night.