Lead Changes for the Ages: The Terriers Come Out on Top in Hard-Fought Battle Against the Eagles in Patriot League Quarterfinal
By Jane Guay
A game of range: that is exactly how one would describe what went on at Case Gym on Thursday night for the Boston University Men’s Basketball team against the American University Men’s Basketball team. If it had any other title, it wouldn’t include a name simply because there were too many important figures to fit into a headline.
Going into post-season play, the packed crowd of Case Gym knew this was going to be a competitive matchup, especially coming off of a Terriers win against the same opponent just five days prior. On Saturday, after giving up a 22-point lead, the Terriers were able to use lessons learned to fuel a much closer game during the rematch.
In the first four minutes of the first half alone, sophomore forward Ben Defty was able to acquire six points, two rebounds, and a block. Defty is just one of the several underclassmen that have had to step up to the plate this season due to upperclassmen injuries.
“[Defty] had the ball in his hands a lot, but, you know, that’s the thing that kept them in the game,” Coach Jones said in a post-game press conference.
With that being said, they were up against a similar situation for the Eagles, what with freshmen taking up nine out of nineteen spots on American’s roster, allowing freshmen from both teams to really shine Thursday night.
Defty was certainly not going to be the only freshman standout of the night, especially with the Eagles’ freshman guards Kade Sebastian and Madden Collins hitting the court. These essential players that add so much depth to both teams are ultimately what made this game such a punch-for-punch matchup fueled by a competitive fire with a side of young, bright minds.
“I think us having a lot of injuries also, like, helps us, like, the squad that we do have, like, we’re pretty tight,” Defty said.
The freshman theme continued with freshman guard Donte Tisinger stepping out onto the court to make a layup that brought the Terriers in front with over 13 minutes in the half to go. This was just one of 22 lead changes throughout the night, making this matchup a competition to feed families.
It wasn’t just dancing in the paint that captured the identity of this game, but rather the unexpected shots beyond the arc, such as sophomore guard Azmar Abdullah’s 3-point shot that further extended the Terriers’ lead to four with under 11 minutes to go in the first half. Just over 30 seconds later, Tisinger made a 3-pointer of his own.
“We have a lot of players that are great at 3-point shooting, so, I mean, we know percentages. Like, we’re a great 3-point shooting team; it’s going to fall. But when it falls like how we did today, it just feels great,” freshman guard Chance Gladden said.
With a growing lead of seven, the Terriers knew not to get cocky following their mistakes from Saturday. Not just their own mistakes, but the Eagles’ ability to drive up the court with dominance and speed to gain more second-chance opportunities was what was going to keep the Terriers on their toes.
The Eagles also had a range of their own, with a shot made behind the arc by junior forward Matt Mayock to cut the lead to four with under nine minutes in the half. These quick comebacks are what were going to be what alerted the Terriers to never get too comfortable with any lead, no matter how big or small. This is especially because that same forward is what brought the Eagles back to a tie game of 23 just moments later with seven minutes to go.
As the half continued, it was freshman-on-freshman battle left and right, with Collins hitting a jumper to tie the game yet again, followed by a layup from freshman guard Chance Gladden to regain the lead for the Terriers. A true punch-for-punch game that was going to be a fight until the very end. Who other than that same guard to extend the Terriers’ lead to four to finish off the half? Although the Terriers were finding their rhythm, they knew that with this Eagles team, anything was bound to happen in the second half—and it did.
An ongoing game of back-and-forth leads, with one of the biggest contributors on the court being sophomore forward Julen Iturbe from the Eagles squad, all starting out by cutting the lead to two with an opening layup. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Iturbe wasn’t enough to stop an early fuel-fest from the Terriers, with freshman forward Sam Hughes forcing the ball into the net from beyond the arc to extend the lead to nine, their highest yet, with just over 17 minutes to go in the first half.
How did the Eagles respond? With an 11-0 run that regained them the lead. This is a team that does not get lazy no matter how big of a gap they have fallen into. They don’t give up but rather match the offensive energy of whoever they may be up against.
“I thought they attacked us the way I thought they would. I just didn’t know how,” Coach Jones said.
It was at this point the Terriers needed to rely on their range, with a Gladden 3-point shot followed by an easy 3-pointer from Tisinger just moments later with just under nine minutes to go in the second half. While throughout this part of the matchup there were not as many long shots from the Eagles, there were enough inside the paint to keep them in the game. Sebastian brought the Eagles back in front once again, 61 to 59, with just over six minutes to go in the second half.
That same lead was put away by the Terriers’ own freshman, Defty, with a jumper to bring them back in front with under three minutes remaining. Ultimately, what became the dagger was Tisinger’s made 3-pointer with a minute and a half remaining, extending the Terriers’ lead to five.
“He was five for five from the floor. He was three for three from three. He’s a freshman. He’s a freshman in the biggest game of the year,” Coach Jones said.
This was the largest lead the crowd had seen in a while, both in game time and added time due to several stoppages that were coming from timeouts of all kinds.
The Eagles, specifically Collins, weren’t giving up. His back-to-back and-1 opportunity, along with a layup and a steal, spoke volumes about his determination in these go-big-or-go-home moments. With Iturbe’s two made free throws, there were 16 seconds of potential overtime. That extended time was no more after Gladden’s game-winning, season-continuing shot to give the Terriers a victory of 75 to the Eagles’ 73.
Looking ahead, Boston University will be facing the number-one-ranked Navy Men’s Basketball team in another go-big-or-go-home showdown for more postseason play. Soon, they will be heading south to play in Annapolis, Maryland, where streaming will be available on CBS Sports Network.