Men’s Basketball: Terriers Complete Doubleheader Sweep of Holy Cross, Extend Home Streak
Featured image by Spirit Veron
By Austin Rayamajhi
Boston University Men’s Basketball (11-11, 5-4 PL) took on the Holy Cross Crusaders Men’s Basketball (11-11, 3-6 PL) in a Monday night matchup, securing the Turnpike Trophy in a 69-59 win.
“[Rebounding] is something I try to bring everyday,” said senior forward Malcolm Chimezie. “I am obviously not the tallest player at my size but I want to get after it so I know that every night my shot might not fall but I can be consistent on the glass.”
The Terriers carried their momentum from a thrilling victory against Bucknell on Saturday into this game, getting off to a fast start against Holy Cross. BU went up by seven points in the first five minutes of the game. This early run was started on the defensive end as the Terriers recorded two blocks and two steals as well as only allowing one field goal during the early part of the game.
The Terriers continued to grow the lead after the first TV timeout with the bench coming in and picking up where the starters left off. Junior forward Otto Landrum, coming off his best game of the season, continued his stellar play early against the Crusaders. Along with Sophomore guard Michael McNair, the pair scored 11 of the Terriers first 20 points.
BU’s electric offense early in the game began to falter, letting Holy Cross back into the game. Holy Cross tied the game after going on a 14-2 run with three minutes left in the first half. McNair was able to break the Crusaders momentum as BU went into the half with a five point lead.
The defense for the Terriers was critical in the first part of the game. Holy Cross do-it-all Freshman guard, Max Green, was held to three points and two assists–along with two turnovers. Green was coming off a season high 25 points against Loyola Maryland prior to this matchup and currently leads the team in scoring and assists.
The second half kicked off with Chimezie grabbing a couple of put back buckets for BU. Chimezie is the Terriers leading rebounder and his prowess early in the half helped the Terriers grow their lead back up to nine.
Each time it looked like BU was going to pull away, the Crusaders responded. Clark and Senior forward Caleb Kenney hit a three on back to back possessions and the lead was down to just one for the Terriers.
Another Terriers run powered by a fast break slam from Graduate guard Miles Brewster pushed the lead to ten with ten minutes left in the contest. Fortunately for BU, this run seemed to be the one to finally capture all the momentum. The Terriers leading scorer, Sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander, pushed his tally into double digits as BU went up by 16 with seven minutes left.
The intensity from the Terriers was on point from start to finish. Holy Cross’ two leading scorers, Green and Sophomore forward Max Nugent, were both held under ten points. The Terriers also outrebounded the Crusaders by 13 and grabbed 10 steals.
“I thought we were able to impose our will on the backboard defensively,” said BU Head Coach Joe Jones.
BU will get a couple days off before heading to Baltimore on Saturday, Feb. 1 to take on Loyola Maryland, with tipoff set for 2 p.m. and the game streaming on ESPN+.