Bean Town Times

Terriers Pull Away Late to Defeat American, 60-54

In a contest featuring 15 lead changes, the Boston University men's basketball team used 13 steals and a late 11-0 surge to defeat American, 60-54, on Wednesday night at Case Gym.

The Terriers (12-14, 5-8 PL) were nearly perfect at the line, finishing 15-of-17 (.882), and shot 47.6 percent in the second half after being held to 34.6 FG% in the first. Hitting seven 3-pointers, they limited the Eagles (15-9, 7-6 PL) to just 5-of-20 (.250) shooting from behind the arc while also posting a 14-5 advantage in second-chance opportunities to avenge an earlier 76-74 road defeat. AU entered the contest ranking 51st nationally at 36.7 3FG% but ended up recording its lowest offensive output of the season.

Graduate student Walter Whyte led all players with 16 points alongside five rebounds and two assists that proved to be critical in helping change the outcome of the game. Senior Nevin Zink combined with Whyte for 13 made free throws on 13 attempts to end the contest at 11 points while hauling in a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Miles Brewster added 11 points, as graduate student Jonas Harper and senior Ethan Brittain-Watts totaled eight points apiece.

Matt Rogers led American with 14 points, while Colin Smalls came off the bench for 13 points. Geoff Sprouse tallied six points, team-high six rebounds and four assists. Jaxon Knotek added nine points off the bench for a team that totaled 18 turnovers.

TURNING POINT

• After Smalls netted a pair of free throws for a 46-42 lead with 6:16 remaining, Brewster ignited BU's 11-0 run by flushing a 3-pointer off Whyte's assist and then earning a steal that led to Whyte finding Brittain-Watts for another trey.
• Brittain-Watts scored again from behind the arc at 2:35, and Zink netted a pair of free throws to give BU its largest lead, 53-46, with 2:04 remaining.
• American committed two turnovers and missed four field goal attempts during that stretch before Rogers hit a layup at 1:40.
• The Eagles got a defensive stop and went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 65 seconds remaining to cut the Terriers' lead to four points.
• Harper drained a 3-pointer on the next possession, and BU scored four points from the charity stripe over the final 18 seconds to seal the victory.

THE SETUP

• Neither team led by more than three points during the first half.
• Whyte hit a turnaround jumper and layup to grab a 16-13 lead with 6:27 left in the half, but Smalls and Sprouse drained back-to-back bombs to retake the lead, 19-16, at 3:34.
• Harper responded with a 3-pointer and an assist on Brewster's first trey to pull ahead, 22-19, with 2:03 remaining.
• Sophomore Malcolm Chimezie powered his way to the hoop to help BU enter the locker room leading, 24-21.
• The Eagles jumped out of the gate in the second half with Rogers' layup and Sprouse's 3-pointer for the 26-24 advantage.
• Facing a 30-29 deficit, Harper and Whyte hit back-to-back buckets for a 33-30 lead at 15:11.
• Chimezie extended the lead to 37-32 four minutes later on a short jumper, but Eagles came right back with a 7-0 spurt capped by Elijah Stephens' fastbreak layup at 8:56.
• The teams traded blows over the next two minutes with Zink's layup plus free throw pushing BU ahead, 42-41, at 7:33.
• American made its last charge over the next 75 seconds on Knotek's own 3-point play and Smalls' two free throws.

GAME NOTES

• Coming off Saturday's career-high 13-point performance at Loyola, Brewster hit a personal-best three 3-pointers to reach double figures in back-to-back games for the first time as a Terrier.
• Whyte is just three points away from becoming the eighth Terrier to reach 1,600 points and 10 rebounds away from becoming the fifth Terrier to reach 800 boards.
• Harper is one steal away from tying for No. 9 all-time at BU alongside D.J. Irving ('14) and Jeff Timberlake ('89) at 145 steals. 
• Head coach Joe Jones moved to win No. 199 at BU.
• The Terriers earned their second win of the season when finishing with a smaller FG% (47.5-40.4) after first accomplishing the feat against Lafayette.
• BU also earned its first win of the season when facing a deficit in fastbreak points (7-4) after falling in the previous nine instances.

UP NEXT

• The Terriers will next start a two-game road trip at Lafayette on Saturday (Feb. 11) with a 1 p.m. start.
• BU won the first meeting, 73-69, in overtime back in January.

Original source can be found here