Bean Town Times

Terriers Stage Furious Rally to Triumph over Lafayette in OT, 73-69

 Facing a 10-point deficit with 3:40 remaining in regulation, the Boston University men's basketball team rallied for a thrilling 73-69 overtime win over Lafayette on Thursday night at Case Gym.

The Terriers (9-7, 2-1 PL) hit all four free throws in the extra session and had career nights from graduate student Fletcher Tynen, senior Ethan Brittain-Watts, junior Miles Brewster and freshman Otto Landrum to remain unbeaten in 2023. Despite missing two starters and three of its top six scorers, BU was able to snap a nine-game losing streak in overtime contests with the last win occurring in 2017.

Tynen claimed his first-ever double-double with 13 points and personal-best 10 rebounds, while Brittain-Watts tallied a career-tying 19 points, highlighted by the layup that tied the game with 12 seconds left in regulation. Brewster posted a career-high 12 points as the 11th Terrier this season to score in double figures, and Landrum hauled in a season-high six rebounds to help BU win the battle at the boards, 44-30. Junior Daman Tate added 11 points as well off the bench.

Averaging 9.5 3-pointers per game, the Leopards (2-14, 0-3 PL) went 13-of-35 (.371) from behind the arc with Eric Sondberg (20 pts.),T.J Berger (17 pts.) and CJ Fulton (16 pts.) draining a combined 11 treys. Kyle Jenkins recorded a team-high eight rebounds and tied Fulton with four assists apiece. After seeing their game-high 10-point lead evaporate at the end of regulation, the Leopards went 2-of-7 in the extra session for the loss.

DOWN THE STRETCH

• After Sondberg hit a 3-pointer to give Lafayette a 62-52 lead with 4:35 left in regulation, the Leopards missed their next eight shot attempts, including the go-ahead jumper from the side before the buzzer sounded.
• Tate followed senior Jonas Harper's layup with a layup and free throw to cut the deficit to 62-57 at 2:58.
• Brittain-Watts scored the last four points to send the game to OT, first hitting a pair of free throws at 2:19, another at 1:19 and finally the game-tying layup at 12 seconds on a successful drive to the hoop.
• The teams went back-and-forth in OT with Devin Hines hitting his lone shot attempt, a 3-pointer, at 1:51 to give Lafayette its final lead at 1:51, 69-67.
• Brittain-Watts tied the game on the next possession with another drive, and Harper followed with a defensive rebound and outlet pass to Brewster for an emphatic slam dunk at 1:15 for a 71-69 advantage.
• After Lafayette missed a 3-point attempt, BU drained the clock and missed a layup before Tynen hauled in the offensive rebound.
• Fouled yet again, Brittain-Watts calmly hit a pair of free throws at 12 seconds to seal the victory.

THE SETUP

• BU jumped out of the gate to a 10-2 lead following Brittain-Watts' free throw at 16:10.
• Jenkins and Fulton responded with back-to-back treys to spark at 14-2 run capped by Sondberg's trey at 11:30.
• T.J. Berger extended Lafayette's lead to 26-21 at 4:12 following Jenkins' offensive rebound with another 3-pointer.
• Tate though hit one of his own, and Brittain-Watts tied the game at 2:53 off a steal and his fastbreak layup.
• Tynen briefly gave BU a 28-26 lead at 1:51 on the putback, but Sondberg retook the lead at 43 seconds from behind the arc for the 29-28 halftime advantage.
• Lafayette carried the momentum into the second half with Berger and Sondberg adding two more treys to extend the lead to 37-28 at 17:33 to prompt a BU timeout.
• BU would chip away, pulling within two (52-50) on Harper's 3-pointer setup by Brittain-Watts' steal.
• The Leopards though came right back with a 10-2 spurt capped by Sondberg's bomb at 4:35 to grab the largest lead of the game before BU mounted the successful rally.

GAME NOTES

• One point shy of tying his personal best in points set at New Hampshire back in November, Tynen earned BU's third double-double of the season by topping his previous career high of nine rebounds posted against both Navy and UMass Lowell during the 2021-22 campaign.
• Brittain-Watts tallied at least five assists for the third time this season while adding two steals and tied his 19-point performance recorded at Notre Dame back on Dec. 7.
• Landrum posted three blocks for the most by a Terrier this season with Tynen adding the other two blocks.
• Junior Caelan Jones made his first career start, while sophomore Malcolm Chimezie made his second.
• Adding Monday's come-from-behind win over Bucknell in which BU faced a 38-25 deficit before posting a 69-61 win, the Terriers have overcome double-digit deficits in back-to-back games for the first time since beating the Bison in the 2019-20 regular season finale and Navy in the 2020 PL quarterfinals.
• The Terriers outscored Lafayette off turnovers (14-11), in the paint (26-16), off fast breaks (15-3) and in bench production (25-7).
• BU improved to 5-1 at home for the second consecutive season, as head coach Joe Jones now sits at 196 career victories with the Terriers.
• BU earned its fifth straight win in the series to improve to 19-8 all-time against Lafayette.

Original source can be found here