{"id":40710,"date":"2024-03-08T11:57:47","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T16:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=40710"},"modified":"2024-03-08T12:45:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T17:45:39","slug":"mens-basketball-bu-topples-navy-in-patriot-league-quarterfinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2024\/03\/08\/mens-basketball-bu-topples-navy-in-patriot-league-quarterfinals\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Basketball: BU topples Navy in Patriot League Quarterfinals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Henry Dinh-Price<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

BOSTON \u2013 Navy had Otto Landrum trapped in the corner. It looked like the Midshipmen would force a 10-second violation as BU struggled to break its full-court press. But with four arms surrounding him, Landrum found Miles Brewster cutting to the middle of the floor. Brewster then lobbed it ahead to Ethan Okwuosa who glided to the rim and layed in the dagger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okwuosa\u2019s layup gave BU an eight-point lead with under a minute remaining. It capped off a quarterfinal win that the Terriers controlled from start to finish.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No. 2 seed BU (16-16, 10-8 PL) led for the final 35 minutes in a 70-61 victory over No. 7 seed Navy (13-18, 8-10) at Case Gym on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t always pretty. BU shot just 11-for-33 in the first half. But it never allowed Navy to establish an offensive rhythm. The Midshipmen shot just 36 percent and 4-of-24 from 3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought it was overall a great team effort,\u201d BU head coach Joe Jones said. \u201cAnytime you hold somebody to 36 (percent), you got a great chance to win the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior forward Anthony Morales led the Terriers’ balanced scoring attack with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe ball\u2019s just going through the net,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Four other Terriers finished with nine or more points, and BU\u2019s bench outscored Navy\u2019s 32-18.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought this was one of our more balanced games in terms of the contributions we got down the line from guys,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both teams entered Thursday\u2019s contest riding a five-game win streak, but the offenses struggled out of the gates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BU and Navy traded layups on their opening possessions. After that, four minutes of scoreless basketball ensued. At the first media timeout, the score was knotted at 2-2.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were on a hot streak. We were on a hot streak winning-wise and it\u2019s clearly because we picked up our defense,\u201d Morales said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s butterflies or anything like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s just two teams that have grown defensively.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of the timeout, BU went on a 14-4 run highlighted by 3s from its seniors, Morales and Brewster. It forced Navy, trailing 16-6, to call a timeout with 10:58 remaining in the first half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was two teams that came in early in the season, got wins here that you know, we let our foot off the gas,\u201d Morales said. \u201cThis time, when we got that lead\u2026 (me and Miles Brewster) looked at each other and we were like, we\u2019re not letting it happen again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BU maintained control, stifling Navy time and time again. The Midshipmen underwent a 1-for-11 shooting stretch as the Terriers built a 33-20 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But BU missed its last six field goals of the half. Navy took advantage, closing on a 7-0 run to enter the break trailing 33-27.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were going under ball screens. So you know, I feel like I\u2019m a good shooter so I shot a couple quick ones. I could\u2019ve been better,\u201d Morales said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got to be better at playing together as a team the whole game and not have those like, \u2018oh, you get a shot. I get a shot.\u2019 Like those types of moments. Those are what kill you,\u201d he continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the first moment that felt unnerving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers bounced back to begin the second half, however. A 6-0 run off of 3s from Landrum and freshman guard Kyrone Alexander restored BU\u2019s double-digit advantage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Navy\u2019s sophomore guard Austin Benigni tried to will the Midshipmen back into the game, constantly attacking the rim. He finished with 22 points, knocking down 10-of-11 free throws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going so fast. He should be like a friggin running back, like it\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI enjoy watching him compete, but I hate playing against him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Junior guard Mac MacDonald chipped in with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t let their shooters get off and one of them did,\u201d Morales said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t enough for Navy, as it never got within six points in the final 18 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers shot 50 percent in the second half and cruised to their sixth straight victory en route to a semifinal berth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis team is more like the 2020 team that really locked into who we were trying to be, had great leadership,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That 2020 team won the Patriot League tournament. And now, this 2024 team \u2013 which started 10-16 and lost its six leading scorers in the offseason \u2013 is just two games away from doing the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a special group. We have no outside distractions, I mean zero. And that\u2019s why this team has been able to kind of reach its potential,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next step toward a championship comes on Sunday at 4 p.m. when BU hosts No. 6 seed Lehigh (13-17, 9-9 PL) in the Patriot League semifinals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s gonna be a dogfight,\u201d Morales said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Terriers swept the regular season series, but the two wins were decided by a combined three points. BU overcame double-digit deficits in both games to earn last-second victories. Brewster sank two game-winning free throws with four seconds left in a 72-71 victory on Feb. 3. And on Feb. 28, <\/span>Okwuosa\u2019s reverse layup gave BU a 64-62 overtime win at the buzzer.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked what to expect: \u201cAnother war. Another absolute war,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe will have our hands full. It will be a great contest. A great semifinal game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

FEATURED IMAGE BY JACOB IRELAND<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Henry Dinh-Price BOSTON \u2013 Navy had Otto Landrum trapped in the corner. It looked like the Midshipmen would force a 10-second violation as BU struggled to break its full-court press. But with four arms surrounding him, Landrum found Miles Brewster cutting to the middle of the floor. Brewster then lobbed it ahead to Ethan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23098,"featured_media":40488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1026,1027,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40710"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23098"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40710"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40713,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40710\/revisions\/40713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}