Men’s Basketball: Terriers Stumble in Another Test on the Road
Featured image by Matthew Wuschke
By Kaan Oguz
Boston University Men’s Basketball (12-14, 6-7 PL) lost their second game in a row against Bucknell Bison (12-14, 8-5 PL) by 76-60. The Terriers got their second loss away in the last five days.
19 days ago in their first matchup on Jan. 25 at Case Gymnasium, Boston University managed to win in overtime by 85-82. This time, the Bisons won in a double-digit deficit in the two teams’ rematch.
Bucknell was in control of the game the entire time. The Terriers could not score for more than six minutes in the beginning of the game. Moreover, the Bisons started with a 15-3 series in the first eight minutes of the game.
“In the stretch they took the lead, we played poorly,” said coach Joe Jones in the postgame interview. After the matches against Lafayette Leopards and Army Black Nights, this game is the third game in the Patriot League where the Terriers never got the lead.
John Bascoe was the key player for Bucknell in the first 8 minutes where they took the lead and never gave back. He made the opener 3-point jumper; made the assists of next 2 baskets of Bisons and then scored the next points. His direct contribution to the first 11 points of Bisons were critical when the Terriers were facing a scoring drought at that time.
In the later minutes of the first half, the Terriers balanced the game; took the momentum and narrowed the difference to 3 points. They managed to come 24-27 in the score coming from 6-21 by toughening up on defense and shooting with higher percentages. The first half finished after the last second free throw of Noah Williamson with the score 24-29 in the lead of Bucknell.
The first nine minutes of the second half was balanced. The Bison were always in the lead; however, the Terriers never gave up the trailing distance in that sequence. With 14:33 left to the end of game, the Terriers narrowed the deficit to 1 with the 3-point jumper of Otto Landrum which was the moment they were closest in score. After that, in the next 7 minutes the score went from 35-36 to 45-64. Bisons completely broke the game in that 7-minute sequence. Coach Jones described this breakdown as “They completely outplayed us in the second half.”
In the period where Bisons went on a 28-10 run; Elvin Edmons IV, Ruot Bijiek and Jayden Williams were leading the offense and Bucknell practically ended the game in the minutes this trio was on the court together.
The last six to seven minutes of the game were a formality. The teams scored mutual baskets; the difference was going around by 15 to 19; the game finalized with the score 76-60.
At the postgame interview, Coach Jones emphasized that the shot percentage of Terriers rose in these last minutes where the competitiveness of the game ended. The same problems that occurred in the beginning of the first half – getting past on perimeter defense, shooting with poor percentages – were the main reasons Terriers could not stay in the match.
The Bison got their fourth victory in their last five games. John Bascoe was the leading scorer of the game with 17 points. He was the star of the first half where the Bisons took control of the game. Other players who scored double-digit points were the trio of star players from the sequence from 14:33 to 6:57 where Bucknell secured the win. Edmonds, Bijiek and Williams scored 13, 11 and 11 points consecutively.
The Terriers failed in the last two tests in the away games in Patriot League. Even though the team couldn’t give the reaction to the game against Holy Cross, they will play two upcoming home games where they have not lost yet in Patriot League. Miles Brewster was the leading player in points and rebounds against Bucknell with 14 points and 8 games.
BU will play their next game against Colgate Raiders on Feb. 15 in Case Gymnasium with streaming available in ESPN+.