Men’s Basketball: Terriers Win in Decisive Fashion Over Dartmouth
Featured image by Spirit Veron
By Austin Rayamajhi
Boston University Men’s Basketball (1-3, 0-0 PL) took on the Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Big Green (2-2,0-0 IL) on Saturday afternoon, resulting in a 78-50 blowout victory for the Terriers’ first win of the season.
“We were pretty solid,” said Head Coach Joe Jones post-game. “If we can just get to the point where we are consistent with what we do, we have the chance to be a pretty good team.”
The game started off back and forth, with both teams trading baskets for the first five minutes. Graduate guard Miles Brewster got the Terriers going with their first two baskets of the game.
Things got heated in the middle of the first half when senior guard Ryan Cornish for Dartmouth and freshman center Ben Defty for BU got into a scuffle after a jump ball, resulting in a technical foul for both.
After the technicals, the Terriers were able to capture the momentum in the first half and open up a double digit lead against the Big Green. BU’s suffocating defense gave up only seven points to Dartmouth in the final 12 minutes of the first half, and the Big Green’s 21 points was the fewest they have scored in any half this season.
The Terriers took a 13 point lead into halftime despite shooting just 2-13 on three-point shots. The team’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander, continued his strong start in the first half, leading the Terriers with both 11 points and six rebounds.
Dartmouth started the second half on fire, cutting BU’s lead down to eight points. Cornish and freshman guard Connor Amundson scored a combined 11 points in the first three minutes of the second half, going 3-for-3 from three-point range. The Big Green switched up their defense, running a 3-2 zone to open up the half.
The Terriers responded by going on their own 7-2 run, opening up the lead to 15 points five minutes into the second half. Dartmouth tried a full-court press, but no defense could halt BU. The Big Green eventually switched back to man, but this defense only exacerbated their issues, as BU opened up a 26 point lead with eight minutes left in the matchup.
The strong scoring attack was balanced, as nearly every Terrier to touch the floor scored. Four different Terriers scored at least eight points, with Alexander leading the way with 21.
The defense was also strong, holding Dartmouth to just 50 points, their lowest of the season. Dartmouth’s starters combined for 38 points on just 33% shooting from the field.
“It started and ended with our defense,” said Jones. “We have a good team, we have a physical team. We had good balance because we shot the ball inside. We have good depth and I think our overall skill set is well-balanced. We have ten dudes who can all play.”
BU went up by 29 with two and a half minutes left in the game, which ended being the largest lead of the game. This mark is by far the most the Terriers have led any game this season.
BU will look to continue the momentum in their next game against Wagner, which comes back at home on Tuesday, Nov. 19th. The game begins at 7 P.M. and will be available to stream on ESPN+.